If Only the Meddler Hadn't Meddled
by MirrorOfErisedSpellsDesire
Summary: Things are not black and white. The so-called leader of the light is shadier than the wizarding world thought. The prophecy was a fake. The true seer was murdered and her daughter has the gift. Snape is obsessed and more dangerous than anyone thought. Plot after plot uncovered. Fifth year. AD/SS/MW/RW/GW bashing. HG/DM(soulbound);HP/SuBo;NL/LL;RL/NT
1. Introduction

**Summary:**

_Things most definitely are not black and white. Not everyone is who they think they are. The so-called leader of the light is shadier than the wizarding world thought. Sybil's prophecy was a fake. The true seer's murder was masked as a lab accident and her daughter (guess who?) has the gift._

_Snape is (a) sickeningly obsessed (bastard) and more dangerous than thought possible. Plot after plot uncovered. Is anyone on their side? Hermione-centric. Fifth year. Dumbledore, Snape, and selective Weasley bashing. Shipping: HG/DM(soulbound); HP/SuBo; RL/NT; SB/MM (not McGonnagal)_

_**Flowery Prologue/Summary:**_

_Things most definitely are not black and white. There are plenty of colors in between, and the meddler certainly muddled things._

_The so-called leader of the light is shadier than the wizarding world thought._

_Severus Snape heard the entire "prophecy" but could only remember less than half, wonder why? (It couldn't possibly be a memory charm...right? I mean the prophecy isn't even real!)_

_Who was really the seer and what devastation did she fall upon? Her daughter is a seer. She isn't as loony as she led everyone to believe. She will fight alongside those who have been wronged just as or even more so than she._

_Families, friends and lovers were split, all thrown into their own personal hell, and by whom? The leader of the so-called light, in the name of __**his **__greater good, of course._

_The subject of the prophecy surges, but it's a fake. A true prophecy is made, and boy is the meddler in trouble because you do not mess with the one named after the daughter of the goddess of love and the god of war, her brother or her dragon._

_The future is not set in stone. Not all prophecies come to be, and that night years ago certainly changed everything. A new prophecy? To hell with that! Hell's breaking lose and the golden trio that should have been is unleashing it, or will be soon enough._

_**A/N So that was the intro... Anyways, a warning to all readers this fic will hold some (quite miniscule) resemblance to HP&amp;OP but it will diverge greatly. Hermione is the main person here, but Draco and Harry play big parts as well, and they have certain abilities that will make things quite interesting indeed. Please review! It is truly greatly appreciated. Siriusly, it is.**_


	2. And So the Haunting Recommences

**A/N Hello as you may have noticed, or not... I have started my revision! :D This is the revised chapter one... or two, depending on how you want to look at it. **

**I think I'll clarify this, since I got a review or two saying that it didn't make sense. This is a dream, hence the italics. (dreams/memories/thoughts are in italics)**

_"You are loved, so so loved. Mum and Dad love you. Be safe. Be strong. Remember, look and you will find."_

_"No! Take me! Take me! Please, have mercy. Take me! Kill me!"_

_"Step aside and your life shall be spared," his cold voice hissed._

_"No!"_

_"Always too stupid to see what's good for you, and now you will die."_

_"Ava-"_

_Crying deafened the maniacal incantation. Blinding green filled the nursery room._

_"Mummy! No!"_

_"Li-Lily…"_

_"Such a waste of such precious talent," the monster hissed in mock disappointment._

_"Bad! Hurt Mummy! Me hurt you!" the tiny girl with fire red curly hair cried._

_A white and blue glow extended from her hair to the tips of her fingers glowing brighter, stronger, than the green before it. A powerful surge of wind pushed the dark-clothed figure into the wall. Red glowing flames replaced the blue and white glow. Seconds later said flames rocketed directly into the pale figure with glowing red eyes._

_"The bitch burned me! I'll show you," he hissed, his slitted eyes narrowing, raising his wand._

_"No! Not brodah! You!" the tiny girl shouted as she held her baby brother's hand. The boy began wailing, unbeknownst to either of the hooded figures, the creatures of the day awoke, hearing the plea, and the creatures of the night went out to his aid._

"Avada Kedavra!"

_"No!" Both children cried in unison, and then the sound of a window breaking, branches snapping came along with darkness._

_..._

"NO!" I bellowed as I was wrenched from the land of dreams into reality.

"You were supposed to be gone now," I whimpered, crying into my knees.

Four years, it had been four blessed years, without that damn dream, and now it's back, and I'm as alone now as I was before.

"Harry why don't you write back?" I asked for the nth time this summer.

Dumbledore said not to send him any owls, well I didn't, but how could I not at least write? Harry had barely gotten out of the graveyard alive, and he had to see Cedric die, how could I abandon him? How could he ask me to abandon Harry? Dumbledore was naïve and just plain stupid if he thought I would let Harry be swallowed by grief and guilt, especially if he was back with the Dursleys.

Harry didn't say anything, but his eyes gave him away. I knew. I saw. He wasn't any happier there than I am here, but, then again, these are my parents. I know I have nothing out there for me, but Harry, Harry has Sirius, he has the Weasleys, he has hope, and yet he has to go back to that hell every single bloody year. It wasn't fair. He had a way out, and he wasn't allowed to take it. I was stuck here. Stuck until I was old enough to leave, old enough to go off on my own.

_"Look and you will find. Be strong. Be safe."_

The words caressed my ear as a cool gust of wind came through my open window. Wasn't it enough that I could already see things that weren't there? Wasn't that enough torturous evidence of my lunacy? I didn't have to start hearing things... not again!

"No, not you too," I whimpered as more tears flowed down my salty cheeks. "You're not insane. You're not insane. You're not insane." I repeated hoping the words would ring true.

_"Look and you will find…"_

"Go away, please. I can't. I can't." I whimpered like the true Gryffindor I was.

Where was my so called courage? Draco would be bloody giddy if he could see me now. Curled up in my bed, crying, afraid of the damn wind, of a petty dream that was nothing more than an insane fabrication of my subconscious.

"Draco…" I sighed dejectedly.

No, he wouldn't be giddy. He wouldn't even notice. Why waste a single precious thought on a mudblood? It was like I didn't even exist anymore... then again, it was better this way. This way I could delude myself into thinking that it didn't matter that I was muggleborn, that I was a Gryffindor.

But I knew that it wasn't so, we were enemies. We weren't on the train anymore. We weren't innocent first years, not anymore. He didn't want to be near me, not any longer.

"But why?" I asked for the millionth time.

He hadn't cared at first. He hadn't cared that I was muggleborn or that I wanted to be in Gryffindor. He thought I was so interesting and nice. What changed? What changed!? The second we set foot onto Hogwarts everything changed…

That was it, everything changed! He changed… but you don't, you can't, change from one second to the next. That would be illogical, unnatural. _Unnatural!_ Okay, so it wasn't natural, it wasn't his doing. It was caused, but by who?

_"Hermione, stop this nonsense. You shouldn't care about Dra-Malfoy, you should be worrying over Harry," _I scolded myself, putting an end to that particular line of thoughts.

Harry! Why isn't he writing back? He's not getting my letters, is he? Of course he's not, but why? How? Would Dumbledore intervene with muggle mail? Or were the Dursleys not giving Harry the letters?

_"Unveil the secrets…"_

"Oh bloody sodding hell, leave me alone!" I groaned frustrated.

I tore the covers off of me and decided to just get my day in hell started early. The sun would be up in two to three hours. There was no point in trying to sleep. It wasn't like I ever slept much anyway.

"Guess I'm starting extra early today….maybe I'll finish and be out of the house before they wake up. I'll get in some extra hours, get some extra money, be better set for when I get out of here" I murmured hopefully, putting an end to the maelstrom my thoughts were creating.

**A/N I hope you enjoyed the first actual chapter of this fic... anyways, plz review. **

**I didn't really change much actually... I was going to combine it with what was originally the next chapter, but then I was like "mmm better not" xD **


	3. The Epiphany, the Angel, and the Devil

**A/N Thanks to all the readers who are giving this story a chance and followed/favorited(?) I think I just made that word up, but I think it gets the point across. Anyways, a special thanks to Alice (guest) and god of all for reviewing. I hope I can get another chapter in today.**

Hermione's POV

Beads of sweat trailed the contours of my face, my damp clothes clinging onto my body as I straightened my back, having just finished tending my mother's prestigious rose beds. I smiled as I watched the sun give life to the sky. The house was spotless, breakfast was made, and the gardens left nothing to be desired, AND only minimal blood was spilled. The rose beds still didn't like me much, but at least over the years they had gradually taken mercy on my poor soul. It was a miracle my skin showed no signs of my brawls with the garden that was just as untamable as my hair.

I sighed. I had long accepted it was better to brawl with the weeds, with the wild beauty of nature, than my parents. THAT had been the cause behind my first bout of accidental magic. Even after having heard everybody's accounts of their own accidental magic mishaps, nothing seemed to even come close to my particular experience.

I shuddered, running my thumb over my shoulder, over the only imperfection that had marked my body permanently in the purgatory the Granger house was. Memories were forgotten, bruises faded, cuts healed, but scars, scars didn't disappear, and it was a good thing they didn't . My scar was the only solid, tangible, palpable motivation I had to throw myself into finding a way to leave the cold inferno that the Granger home was.

It was the only thing that kept the memory of the magical catastrophe fiasco engraved in my memory and even so, something was missing. The memory felt fuzzy, almost as if it weren't completely there. My parents never again laid a hand nor object on me, after the event, but the child labor, the condescending comments and jives, and punishments solely got harsher.

…..

"You stupid, incompetent beaver!" she shrieked throwing everything within arm's reach that the well-equipped kitchen could provide.

The wind began swirling around my petit five year old body as pots, pans and plates all hit their mark. Soon, the house rattled under the wrath of the wind. My body glowed green as the very weeds I had refused to pull slithered into the house, ensnaring her wrists, the tears rolling down my cheeks halted midway, and drifted into the air in front of me. Suddenly, time seemed to stop, everything froze, suspended in mid-air, and just as abruptly as everything was drifting in space, everything but me and whatever was firmly attached to the ground found itself soaring into the air, slamming loudly into the roof.

"Don't hurt me ever again!" I yelled as my body burst into flames, not burning my clothes or my body.

She nodded fearfully as everything floated down to its original spot, and the flames surrounding me died down, leaving me vulnerable once more.

"Go to your room. Now. You won't be eating a single meal for the next three days if you're lucky," she hissed.

"Yes, ma'am," I murmured, all but running up the stairs, into my room

…  
_"Holy Flying Hippogriff Dung!"_ my mind screamed.

_"My memory of _the event_ is fuzzy, unclear, feels incomplete and the only damn thing that is anchoring it into my mind is a scar, a scar that was made by a flying plate, when nothing else has scarred me throughout the fifteen years I've been alive, and why the hell would such a traumatic event only be retained by a mere scar. Whoever the hell was stupid enough to have me obliviated at such a young age certainly hadn't counted on the fact that my body and magic would have found a way to protect my mind. Now, the question is who and why? Was it just the accidental magic squad? Or is there something else? Either way, my memory of the event wouldn't have threatened the statute, so the bastard or bastards who did this will pay, and, boy, am I going to enjoy it." _

"Time to get away from hell and to Mrs. Richards'," I said contentedly as I made my way up the stairs for a well-deserved shower.

**A/N And that was the second "real" chapter... anyways, it's editted... if there's any mistakes I missed, please inform me. I don't want anyone going crazy because there's a terrifying grammar/spelling errors. **


	4. No Revenge in Azkaban

**Disclaimer: I in no way own Harry Potter, sad but true. I don't intend to make a profit out of this story and the Harry Potter characters and plot and everything else Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling.**

**A/N Well, as you can, or will, tell, this chapter starts off in Draco's (*sighs dreamily) point of view. I will warn y'all now, I love Draco, and I hate Ron, Molly, and Ginny. **

**In case anyone is wondering, it currently is the summer before fifth year, and let's just say that the story will pick up a bit after the background work is laid out. Nevertheless, I am trying to make the background as exciting as possible.**

**This story will be mostly in Hermione's POV, but I'll be switching POVs when needed/I feel like it. **

Draco's POV

"Where the bloody hell do you think you're going?" the bastard I called father hissed as I strolled down the corridor leading into the kitchens.

"Oh nothing, just wandering about," I lied quickly, wincing as the words left my mouth.

I was one sorry excuse of a slytherin. So much for cunning, that lie wasn't even _close_ to convincing, but I most definitely did not want to be on the receiving end of a litany of crucios today.

"A pureblood does not set foot into a kitchen. The kitchen is for the vermin like house elves and mudbloods," he hissed, his cold blue eyes piercing into mine.

_"What the sodding hell! Blood is blood. If anyone here is considered vermin, that'd be you!" _I thought angrily, physically incapable of speaking the words I thought and so desperately wanted to say. Instead of the words my body felt true, the words that screamed to be spoken, a monotone "Yes, father," escaped my lips.

"Good," he drawled. "Now, I see you were once again humiliated by that mudblood. Malfoys are never second best. You were sorted into Slytherin for a reason, use the brain you _supposedly_ have in that thick skull of yours and fix it."

_"Well, maybe I'm not a bloody Malfoy! Maybe I took after the Blacks. Maybe I don't want to _fix it. _Maybe I'm not meant to be in Slytherin. Hermione is bloody brilliant, and nothing will ever change that, now sod off!" _I thought vehemently, once again not physically able to speak the words I so desired to.

"Yes, father," my treacherous mouth replied against my will.

…

Love, warmth, and devotion danced in those beautiful hazel eyes, gold and green swirling in those beautiful orbs. Her burning eyes held mine as I felt the same love and devotion that was seen in her eyes emanate from my body. I pushed the feelings out, hoping she'd feel what I felt as the words left my mouth, "Mine."

"Always," she replied her eyes shining brighter than before.

…

"What the bloody hell?" I exclaimed shaking off the warmth the strangely familiar vision had induced.

"Draco, I will not tolerate such crude language," my mother chided from behind me.

"Sorry mother."

"Go up to your room. I'll call you down for lunch."

_"What are they planning now, and what the hell do they expect me to do in my room? I can't take it anymore. I've read _Hogwarts: A History _three times already, and even so I don't see the point in re-reading it. It's not like she'll let me get close enough to her to strike up an intelligent, non-aggressive conversation," _I thought bitterly.

"Hermione," I sighed for the millionth time this summer.

It was my fault she hated me. It was my fault we weren't friends like we had agreed to be on that train ride. I had ruined it without meaning to the second I set foot in Hogwarts. I hadn't meant to say all those things. I didn't even believe in that shit, but I couldn't stop myself! I couldn't help it. Why the hell couldn't I say and do what I wanted? Why didn't my body respond as my mind willed it to? It was like... my body wasn't mine...

"_Bloody sodding hell! Hippogriff dung! Slimy gillyweed! Compulsion charms! Bloody arsed bastards! How the hell did it take so sodding long to process? Oh all of hell is breaking lose the second I discover who cast the compulsion charm!"_

Hermione… She and I could have been together years ago. We could have been friends. I could have been happy. I didn't have to be alone, but no someone just had to screw me over, didn't they? I will find out who did this, and they will pay, but first I have to survive the summer in this hell hole... with my sanity intact, without having the dark mark forced upon me, and without killing my bastard father. I wouldn't get any revenge if I ended up in Azkaban.

**A/N and so we have two very determined individuals on the search for the one *hint, hint* who had the nerve to meddle *another hint* in their lives.**

**Oh I can't wait! Sadly, I have to. I have to build it up, and I have to make sure everything is in place and all the clues are given before hell breaks lose. **

**Anyways... please please please please please please please PLEASE review**


	5. Running to the Cauldron

**A/N Someone suggested I write longer chapters, it is longer than usual. I will try to make the chapters longer from now on, but the down side is that updates will not be posted daily. They are now posted every week or two, in case you wanted to know. Anyways, please review and tell me how the story is going so far. Constructive criticism, comments, requests, is appreciated**

**Hermione's POV**

"Where the hell have you been?"

"Is the retarded beaver finally back?" I heard my father hiss.

_"Beaver?! Honestly! That's soooo infantile! Besides, much to my relief, my patronus is an otter. An otter not a damn _beaver_!" _I thought indignantly.

"Actually, I think otter would be more accurate," I replied without thinking.

My eyes widened, realizing I had actually said that out loud. Shit! I wasn't supposed to talk back! I was supposed to fade into the background and hope for the best. I was already late, and now I just had to go and make them go bat shit crazy by talking back... Then again, it wasn't like I was going to say no. Mr. Roberts may be one creepy tosser but he sure wasn't stingy, not at all. Fixing up his study and organizing files while he ogled my backside was well worth the small fortune he payed me. As long as he didn't try to pull a move on me, and kept his comments of how beautifully I had blossomed to a minimum, of course. I was desperate for money, but I was proud and had my dignity very much in tact, thank you very much,

"What did you say?" my mother hissed, as my father's face reddened with fury.

I tensed as I shifted my body away from him, preparing myself for the blow my body knew would come even if my mind had no evidence. I didn't want this anymore! I never had, but I was so sick of being a bloody victim! The air around me froze as I saw my father's hand raised to beat me.

Suddenly, my anger flared. How _dare_ he? They would be useless without me! They have no idea how to care for their home! They can't cook to save their lives! I don't even know how they manage to survive in this pig sty they call a house when I'm at Hogwarts. I'm their sodding personal house elf and they _DARE_ attempt to lay their hands on me!? I grabbed ahold of his forearm just before it could connect to the side of my head.

"Don't you dare try touch me again!" I hissed, pushing him away as the wind swirling around me as my body began to glow gold.

"You bitch!" my mother shrieked as she launched herself at me.

"Emma, don't," my father said holding her back. "He'll be here soon enough, and he'll take care of it like last time, like always," he said smugly.

_"So they knew! The bastards knew!"_

"To hell if it's going to go like last time!" I yelled.

The glow surrounding my body went from gold to green, and less than a second later weeds had both my parents ensnared, without a chance of breaking out any time soon. Under my hard glare the weeds shot into the floor, leaving my parents embedded into the ground.

"Well, seeing you're _rooted_ to your spots, I won't hold it against you for not helping me pack."

"You're forgetting something," my mother said sweetly.

"Really, what would that be?" I asked in the lightest tone I could muster.

"You have nowhere to go you ungrateful bitch," my father hissed, triumph shining in his eyes as his smile widened.

"I wouldn't be so sure," I smirked before dashing up the stairs.

_"I'd bloody kill them if I didn't have to leave __**now**__... Damn idiots got lucky. Fucking slave drivers."_

I threw all my clothes and books into my Hogwarts trunk, not bothering to organize anything. If my parents weren't bluffing, and I have the inkling they weren't, he, whoever he was, would be here soon, and he wouldn't hesitate to wipe my memory of today completely, and that would mean forgetting my realization about being obliviated in the first place. Besides, I had the feeling he would find a way to keep me here slaving away for the rest of my life, and that wasn't happening if I had anything to do about it.

I removed the loose floorboard under which I had stored my small fortune. Seven years of slaving away mowing lawns, cleaning out attics, tutoring, running errands, babysitting, and performing basic secretarial duties had certainly paid off, and never spending a single pence only benefited my financial situation. I had hoped to wait until I turned seventeen. It would have been the optimal time to make my escape but, now, I couldn't wait until I was considered an adult in the magical world. It was now or never, and it had to be now, so I bounded down the stairs, my heavy trunk _nearly_ causing me to barrel my way down the staircase and land flat on my face. I had to go now. I had to avoid getting caught too. If I got caught, I would be brought straight back and I would never be able to get away.

"You may think you're getting away with this, but your mind doesn't stand a chance!" my mother shrieked as I sprinted out the door.

I made it all the way to the end of the street before stopping dead in my tracks. Abby, Chrissy, Johnny, Mike, I couldn't just disappear without a word. They and Mr. and Mrs. Richards were the family I had always wished I had. I loved them more than they could imagine. They had done more for me than they would ever know.

Tears streamed down my face at the thought of leaving them, but it had to be done. They wouldn't be safe with me around anyway. Voldemort was back and anyone tied to me would suffer greatly. With that in mind I bounded down the adjoining street, plowing my way to the Richards home. I rapped on the door desperately, praying they were home. There wasn't time to waste, and I could not wait around or come back later.

"Mione? Mione!" my Chrissy exclaimed, his face lighting up beautifully, as he opened the door.

I was going to miss him. He was right. He was my favorite. He had been three when I started taking care of them. He was the youngest back then, and he had the hugest crush on me. He still did... I was going to miss hugging him, having him sitting on my lap, having him fall asleep in my arms, reading to him, them.

"Hermione? Hermione, what's wrong?" a very worried Mrs. Richards asked from behind him. Seeing my hesitation, she took my arm and pulled me into a warm embrace. I let her usher me inside as I tried to gather my wits.

"Hermione, why are you crying?" my gorgeous Abby asked, her eyes full of unshed tears at the sight of mine. She was eleven now, and she already was a heartbreaker. She was smart and beautiful, down-to-earth, and athletic.

"I-I came to say goodbye," I said softly.

"What?! Why?!" Johnny and Mike exclaimed in unison. Boy, was I was going to miss my rambunctious twins. They were the smartest four year olds I knew, and they were so sweet.

"Dear, what's wrong? Can we help? You're family. If you need a place to stay, then you will stay here," Mrs. Richards said confidently, leaving very little room for argument, but it couldn't be. I couldn't stay. They'd find me here. He was magical, he would find me here.

"No, I-I can't. I-I was hoping we'd get until I was... old enough, but I- it can't be put off any longer…. I love you all so, so much. I promise I'll write whenever I can," I said shakily trying to stifle my oncoming sobs.

This was it. This was probably the last time I would see the family that had I had come to love as mine. I would never hold them. I would never read to them. I wouldn't even have their letters. They'd have mine, but I wouldn't be able to get any of their letters. They wouldn't be able to stick them in my mailbox and have them redirected to me. I had done the redirecting ward just before going to Hogwarts, I hadn't known enough magic back then to make it work without me living there and being somewhere other than Hogwarts.

"Where are you going to go Mione?" little Chris asked desperately.

"I'm sorry Chrissy, but I can't say. It's better off this way, 'kay?"

"Please, at least stay the night," Mr. Richards, who had been silent this whole time, begged.

"I can't, but, please, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I'll write once I get settled."

"Okay, then at least take this," Mr. Richards said holding out a small box and a beautiful leather photo album. I nodded tearfully, as I took it in my hands. "We were going to give it to you at the family picnic this weekend, but considering the circumstances, now's the time."

I caressed the cover of the photo album, my fingers trailing over the gold message inscribed: "To our angel Hermione, who we love as one of our own." I opened it with great care, fearing I would somehow destroy it if I so much as breathed on it. Inside were pictures of me with the family I considered mine, photo-copies of _all_ the letters I sent to the kids, and letters they had written, pictures they had drawn, and valentine cards they had never been able to send.

Tears flowed freely as I reached the end. At the end I found an envelope that said "Spoil yourself for once, Happy Early Birthday," and alongside it was a gorgeous oval locket. The words "One for all, and all for one," were engraved on the front, and on the reverse the words "You are our one. Never forget you are loved H," were engraved. On the inside was something even more beautiful, a picture of all of us together at last year's family picnic.

"Thank you," I cried pulling them into a fierce hug.

"Don't leave us," Chrissy pleaded.

"I'll be gone for a bit, but I'll never leave you. I'll always have you in my heart, and I hope I'll always be in yours," I said softly, kissing his forehead and holding him tight.

"Always," they all chorused fervently, as they took turns hugging and kissing me goodbye.

"Until we meet again," I whispered into the air as I walked away from my life as I knew it to be.

I took a deep breath and wiped my tears. I was off to the magical world; I didn't have time for sentimentality. I had to be strong. I had to be brave. I had to be the Gryffindor Hermione they knew in that world.

Once I regained my composure, I rummaged through my bag and pulled out my wand along with seven sickles. I had never been more grateful to Harry for giving me some of his reward money from the tournament. I had disagreed with him when he had told me that I deserved it for all of my help, it was certainly getting me out of a tough spot right now.

"The Leaky Cauldron," I said as soon as the doors opened.

I pulled my trunk onto the bus and handed Stan's replacement the fare. Thankfully, he seemed to sense my solemn mood and didn't attempt to strike conversation, thus giving me some much needed time to think. Had I made the right choice? Yes, even if it hurt like hell to leave my kids. Should I have waited and confronted the bastard? No, definitely not, I couldn't even use magic yet.

Is the Leaky Cauldron safe? It should be. There's so many people passing through and staying and leaving that a fifteen year old witch shouldn't draw attention, and Tom has always been kind to me and he isn't bigoted, so yes it should be safe. I'll try sending Harry another letter from the Cauldron, but this time I'll address it to someone else... that should work.

Now, I just have the whole mind thing to worry about. I mean there's an equal and opposite reaction for every action, and this shouldn't be an exception. If there's a way to penetrate the mind, then there has to be a way to safeguard it, and I _will_ find it. It'll just take a bit of research.

"Leaky Cauldron," Stan's replacement announced as the bus slammed into a stop.

"Thank you," I said politely.

"Are you alright, Miss? It breaks my 'art to see such a beauty so sad," he asked, worry shining in his eyes.

"I will be, thank you…"

_"Steve," _the wind whispered helpfully, and this time it didn't freak me out.

"Steve, thank you," I finished smiling.

"It was my pleasure miss," he smiled blushing slightly. "I'll help you with your trunk," he said slightly more confidently, his shining eyes and cheeky smile brightening my mood.

"Thank you Steve, you're a dear," I said smiling as I started walking towards the Cauldron, but before I could take two steps he took my hand and pressed his lips gently against my knuckles.

"My pleasure," he murmured before climbing onto the bus once more.

_"Friend... can help if needed..." _the wind whispered as I made my way into the pub.

...

"Evening Tom," I greeted.

"Evening, miss... Miss Hermione!?" he asked smiling widely, "to what do I owe the pleasure of being graced with your most delightful presence?"

"Do you happen to have a simple room for an extended stay?" I asked shyly, suddenly embarrassed by my homeless state.

Wow, it felt so... lonely and vulnerable. I had expected to feel strong, brave, free, fearless even, but not powerless and at the mercy of everyone and everything.

"For you Ms. Hermione, of course, I assume you are not certain how long you will be staying?"

"I, most probably, will be staying until the express leaves, Tom. I have a bit of magical currency on me at the moment. I still need to exchange some Muggle currency, but I believe I have more than enough to last me until then," I rambled nervously.

"Ms. Hermione, there's no need to be so nervous. We'll be happy to have such a lovely young lady for the remainder of the summer, and don't worry about exchanging currency, you'll have more than enough time to do so," he said chuckling at my blushing face.

"Well I wouldn't want to abuse of your hospitality, so at the moment I have eight galleons and twelve sickles to spare for the room. How long will that cover?" I asked still blushing.

"That would cover a little over a fortnight Miss Hermione, but I'll make you a deal. You see, you'll be staying here for a while, and we're both quite lonely. Well, I firmly believe that a busy mind and busy body is good medicine for the heart and soul. Besides, you'll see that my administration and accounting is quite scattered and a bit disastrous, but I don't think it's something such a bright witch can't handle, so what do you say?"

"Tom, am I understanding your proposition?" I stammered, unbelieving.

Fate couldn't possibly be giving me a break. I mean it had been such a bitch thus far, so why in the world would that change now? I had to have imagined it. Hopeful delusions, is what it all was.

"Three galleons and you becoming my administrator for the length of your stay here, and you'll earn your keep," he replied. I'm not delirious?

"Tom, you don't need to do that. I have more than enough, really. I could pay my keep here and-"

"And I really need your help, and I think it's only fair if I help you in return. I'm sure you have better things to spend that money on," Tom insisted. I'm not delirious! Most definitely not delirious.

"Okay, then we'll get started tomorrow," I said handing him 5 galleons, as he guided me to my room.

Once I had put my trunk in it's place, and settled in as well as I could, I stepped out into muggle London and bought a pack of envelopes. I would be needing them over the summer, without a doubt.

I sighed as I finished rereading the letter. I took an envelope and addressed it to James Black before putting the letter inside. Harry would know the letter was for him as soon as he saw who it was addressed to. If Dumbledore was the reason Harry wasn't getting my letters, then this one should definitely get to him. After all, I seriously doubted the man would actually take the time to check through _all_ of the Dursley's correspondence.

I sincerely hoped that Harry wasn't my letters because of the Dursley's, but I knew I was hoping against all hope. I hoped my little cryptic message was completely redundant and that Harry wouldn't get to the point that he actually understood what I was saying, yet I had a strong inkling that my message would prove to not be redundant in the least and Harry would certainly be put into a situation that would lead him to discovering what I meant to say. I knew, somehow, that this was just my way of getting solid evidence that would forever break the blind trust I had laid at Dumbledore's feet. If he was heartless enough to abandon Harry like that, he didn't deserve my trust.

I went downstairs the second I arranged for my letter to be sent by muggle means. It was still early so I asked Tom to show me the administration room, which happened to be a side room on a side of the stairs.

"You weren't kidding Tom," I chuckled as Tom ushered me to the side room dedicated to the administration of the place. I couldn't even see the desk Tom had said I would be working at, seeing as it seemed to be buried under the piles of parchment that could only be documents concerning the establishment, bills, and receipts.

"I know it's a lot, but I certainly don't expect you to…" he trailed off as I began organizing the chaos of parchment into piles. He chuckled as I struggled with a particularly heavy tome that seemed to be stuffed with even more bills and receipts. "I'll let you in on a secret. The use of underage magic is only regulated in non-magical homes, since magical parents are expected to regulate their children's use of magic."

"You must be joking!" I exclaimed. "I could have used magic?" I questioned indignant.

"Yep," he chuckled at my response, "but don't tell anyone I told you. You aren't really _supposed _to know."

"Well, I would have found out one way or another, so no harm done. Besides, this will save my back plenty of pain seeing how heavy that blasted book was," I replied pulling out my wand.

With a flick of my wand all the books that were visible underneath all the parchment stacked themselves into the less chaotic area of the administrative disaster. I smiled in satisfaction; I had performed the task silently and without effort. I had been practicing silent magic in the library since mid-term last year, but I most certainly hadn't expected it to be so easy so soon.

_"__Shit,"_ I thought as I glanced at Tom, suddenly remembering I wasn't alone. _"Constant vigilance, Hermione. How could you have forgotten you aren't alone?"_

"My Miss Hermione, I certainly don't think 'brightest witch of the age' does you justice," Tom chuckled, his eyes shining with amusement. "I think I may have underestimated you. I pity the chaos you are about to obliterate so ruthlessly."

"Ruthless?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, yes, you see I've come to a conclusion about you Miss Granger," he said slyly, his eyes full of mirth.

"And what would that be Mr. Tom?"

"You're a brilliant lass, _brilliant,_ but scary. You're an unstoppable force of *nature. Once something gets into your head, there's nothing in the world that can stop you," he laughed heartily. Suddenly, his demeanor turned more serious as if mulling over a passant thought. "The lad you are destined to be with will be another force to be reckoned with, no doubt," he mused.

"I have to find him first Tom, and I don't see that happening anytime soon," I sighed. I'm too damn blind to any other male other than Draco bloody Malfoy, I thought to myself.

"Maybe he's closer than you expect and something is stopping you from realizing he's been there the whole time his feeling mirroring yours," he said quietly, his eyes slightly hazy, as if he were lost in the confines of his own mind.

_"__What the bloody hell? Why do I have the feeling that I'm not the only one who is playing pawn and being manipulated. The way he says it… it's like… it's the recesses of his mind breaking through and making appearance before they're consumed and forced into his unconscious..."_

"I'll leave you to it then, Miss Hermione. Don't overwork yourself lass."

"Tom?"

"Yes, Miss?"

"Please, it's just Hermione," I said shyly.

"Okay, Hermione," Tom said smiling widely, before leaving.

_"He misses his daughter…you fill the hole that his heart was left with," _the wind whispered. _"You can count on him…he won't betray…"_

"Damn wind," I muttered, shaking off the thoughts about going to a mental asylum.

….

I looked around pleasantly satisfied. It was midnight and I had already arranged all the papers into three categories: bills, receipts, and IOU's. The several tomes had been skimmed through, and proved to be a thing entirely on their own. They recorded any verbal dealings and arrangements made with Tom, my own agreement being on the last page of the most recent book. I'd have to ask for Tom's approval to go through the tomes, knowing that there could be something personal or sentimental in their pages.

"Hermione?" Tom asked , peering into the room. His eyes widened comically as he took in the sight of the semi-organized room. "Merlin's beard! I certainly didn't expect you to make so much progress in such little time! You're amazing! You've certainly earned yourself a nice midnight munch and a rather tasty ice cream, so what do you say, and I am not taking no for an answer, so let's go."

"What's the point of asking for my opinion when you're just going to make the choice for me?" I asked, mock glaring. Tom's smile widened, unshed tears gathering in his eyes.

"Because it gives me the right of saying I asked for your opinion but you were to slow to give it," he grinned mischievously a sense of remembrance in his eyes.

"I've let myself be bested," I groaned playfully.

"Thank you, Hermione," he murmured so softly, it was obvious he hadn't intended to articulate his thoughts. "Well, let's get to it then. Time's a wastin'."

"Let me get my bag and I'll be down," I said cheerfully, his happy mood rubbing off on me.

…..

"Thank you Tom!" I said as we headed back to the Leaky Cauldron. Working at the Alley and knowing everyone sure came in handy. We were able to get an nice belated dinner and Fortescue had given us free ice cream!

"Hermione…I-I'm th-the one that should be th-thanking you. Ever since I s-saw you last year, when you c-came with the W-Weasleys, I- you j-just rem-minded me so much o-of her," Tom stuttered, his eyes filling with melancholy.

"Tom, I'm honored to have such a kind man see me as their daughter," I said softly embracing him.

"Her name was Marlene… she had married Sirius you know… best friend's with Lily, and then the same night… Lily and James died, Sirius was sent to Askaban, and nobody could find her… I never knew…" he replied, his voice full of pain, tears sliding down his face and onto the top of my head.

_"There may be method to the madness. The wind-voice doesn't seem like such a bad thing right about now... I mean it was right... so like a sixth sense of sorts..."_ I mused.

"Tom, I'm so sorry, but at least…maybe she's still out there, not knowing how to get back," I said softly, something within me telling me there was some truth to my words, like before, I had the feeling that there was definitely something off, and it wasn't Tom. No, there was something bigger happening and I was going to discover what it was, but first things first.

"Tom?" I asked timidly.

"Yes?"

"Is there… don't think I'm crazy or anything, but I was thinking… Is there any way to guard one's mind?"

"Like occlumency you mean?"

"Occlumency?" I asked confused.

"Well, legilimency is the ability to delve into the minds of people and being able to interpret findings correctly. Occlumency, is its opposite. It is the ability shield one's mind from the invasion and influence legilimency. These are the two most common forms of the Mind Arts, but they aren't commonly taught in schools because learning and mastering requires impressive mental discipline… Hold on, why do you ask?" he asked, looking at me warily, almost as if expecting me to either be pulling his leg or spontaneously combust... or both.

**Harry's POV**

"Get the mail boy!" my fat, spluttering, Uncle Vernon barked as soon as I finished serving their breakfast.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," I replied, immediately heading toward the mail slot in the front door.

Having learned from the letter incident the summer before my first year at Hogwarts, I quickly went through the letters seeing to whom they were addressed. My breathing hitched as I saw a letter addressed to a certain James Black in what seemed to be Hermione's neat script. Why the hell would she address it to James Black? Not daring to risk being discovered, I shoved the letter into my pants pocket before heading back into the kitchen and handing the Dursley's their correspondence.

I sneaked out of the house, seeing they were too busy eating breakfast. I had already done my chores, and they actually preferred my absence anyway. Besides, I needed to see why the hell Hermione felt the need for a code name just to write to me after two weeks. Seriously, she's always telling Ron and me to write and she barely writes after two weeks of summer. Two weeks!

I made my way towards the desolate park near Privet Drive, and sat myself on one of the shabby swings. I pulled the envelope out of my pocket and turned it over in my hands examining the outside. The envelope was definitely from Hermione's stationary. Her script seemed slightly different. It didn't seem as compact…but it was still definitely Hermione's. I sighed heavily as I tore the envelope, and read.

_"Dear H,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. Officially, this is the fifth letter I have sent you in the two weeks we have spent out of school, but I think it's safe to say that this is the first letter that you have received, if you receive it at all._

_Circumstances have led me to leave home, but before you start worrying, I want to assure you I am fine. The where is of little matter, just know that I am well. This is the last letter I will be writing to you this summer, unless something of consequence occurs. If something happens on your end don't hesitate to contact me. Hedwig should be able to find me._

_Be safe._

_Love,_

_H.G_

_P.S. Complete siriusness is a safer alternative to simply dumbing around..."_

"What the hell?" I breathed, utterly and completely perplexed.

This is the fifth letter she's written to me, but it's the first one I've received, and she obviously suspected it since she addressed the letter to James Black. She was bloody brilliant. She figured out that I wasn't getting her letters, **and** she went through the trouble of trying to get one of them to me. I really needed to watch my temper... I had no right to doubt her. What the hell was wrong with me? I was so moody lately. I was so on edge, and I didn't have the faintest idea as to why.

Now, the question is... why the hell did she have to leave home? What happened? Did something happen to her parents? Did Voldemort go after them? Or was she afraid of Voldemort going after them? I really hope it wasn't my fault. Not this too.

I took a deep, calming breath and made my decision. I was going to get Hedwig out of her cage tonight, and have her send a small message letting her know I got her letter. I know she won't want to talk about her situation. I would have to convince her, and I wouldn't be able to do that unless it was in person, and even then it'd probably take loads of prying. So for now, I'd let it rest. For now, I'd focus on the letter because there most definitely had to be something more to this letter than I'm seeing. How the hell am I supposed to unravel an encrypted message that was encrypted by _Hermione_?

I sighed as I made my way back to the Dursley home. I had an owl to free, a note to write, and it had to be done today for my sanity's sake.

…..

_"H,_

_Got JB's letter. Take care._

_Love,_

_H_

_P.S No epiphany but will work on it."_

I huffed frustrated. That was the best I could come up with. If she was being secretive, then there was a reason, and I most certainly wasn't going to screw it up, especially if her safety depended on this. I wouldn't be able to live if something happened to her because of me.

**Draco's POV**

I mentally berated myself for my weakness. Just how strong was this damn compulsion charm? I hadn't noticed it until very recently, and I was still unable to overcome it! Why was I so damn weak?

This is so damn frustrating! I can't say no. I can't disappoint the bastard I have to call father. Hell, I can't even attempt to do as I want! If I could, I would have been out of that hell hole they call home by now. I would have stuck with Hermione, and no one in the world would have pried me away from her. I suppressed a growl as I followed my father into the Leaky Cauldron.

I felt something stir in my chest. I took a deep breath trying to smother the elating happiness that coursed through my veins. What the fuck was wrong with me? I was just mentally ranting! Besides, I was supposed to be stoic and without emotion. I had to appear to be the cold blooded bastard Lucius Malfoy was, and that was difficult enough without feeling the idiotic happiness I associated with thinking and seeing and being in the presence of Hermione.

I bit back the smile that threatened to surge and the warmth spread from my chest to the rest of my body. Merlin was I really so deep under? Had I not seen her just a little over two weeks ago? Sure it had felt like an eternity, but am I so desperate that just thinking about her has the same effect on me as if she were physically pre-

"Oof," I heard the voice of the angel that graced my existence with her goodness and light, and my dreams with her kindness and beauty say as her body slammed into mine.

The force with which we crashed had been enough to send her barreling to the ground, but before she could make contact with the floor, my hands held her waist and pulled her body against mine. Holy Helga it felt so good!

"I'm sorry," I murmured, staring into her brown eyes.

Her eyes seemed to pull me into their depths, and the deeper I was pulled the less brown her eyes seemed. First came the gold flecks, then the blue. Oh founders, it was such a vibrant, enchanting blue. Then the green, it was so mesmerizing, as green as the greenest blade of grass, and then the silver it seemed to swirl as if it were the wind itself.

"So, so beautiful," I heard myself breathe, and just like that the flurry of colors morphed into chocolate brown, as if those words had ended the spell we had been locked in.

_"Shit! Please tell me she didn't hear that," _I begged internally.

She would think I was either delusional or playing with her. She couldn't possibly believe me if I told her I fancied her. She wouldn't believe me if I told her that I didn't want her dead. Hell, she probably wanted me dead. I deserved it, after how I had treated her, after I had broken my promise.

Her eyelids closed repeatedly as if trying to clear her thoughts. I shielded myself for the fury that was probably to come. She would slap me as she did third year, push me away, destroy any hope I currently held in the deepest recesses of my heart, _and then_ proceed to tell me what a git I am and how I had no right to be within a three foot radius of her presence. Well, maybe not in that order but it was bound to happen. There was no way of avoiding it.

"Draco," she breathed her breath caressing my lips. She was oh so close...

She tore her eyes from mine, and shook her head, obviously trying to regain clarity of thought. I felt her chest expand against my body as she took a deep breath, causing me to realize I was still holding her firmly against me. Godric, it felt so right. She belonged in my arms. It was like she was made to be in my arms, her body molding perfectly into mine. I closed my eyes trying to clear my own mind before my body gave away my not so pure thoughts.

"Sorry," I repeated as I slowly, and very grudgingly released her.

"I… It was my fault. I'm sorry. I have to go," she said shakily as she stepped away from me.

"Are you coming Draco?" my father drawled from the other end of the Cauldron.

"Hermione…"

"You have to go too," she said softly.

"But-"

"Just go, no one can know," she said softly, her eyes shining brightly.

"No one will, not if I can help it," I promised before following my father.

Merlin's wand, what the hell is going on? Why is she here? She didn't seem to be with her parents. Was she just passing through? How the hell did her eyes change colors like that?

Wait, she didn't push me away! She didn't seem revolted. She doesn't hate me as much as I thought! Salazar, I feel as giddy as a first year seeing Hogwarts for the first time. She doesn't hate me _as much_ as I thought! Maybe I have _some_ hope...

**A/N and it is revised and combined! yay! I got more accomplished than I had thought I would get done. Anyways, please R&amp;R! **


	6. Merlin's Wand a Charm

**A/N Hello, yet another chapter revised! This was originally part of the previous chapter and the previous chapter was originally three chapters, so I think it's fair to say I've done a fair bit of editing. Anywho, please enjoy ^_^ **

**Hermione's POV**

Today was going to be a good day, I was sure of it. For the first time since being told I was going to Hogwarts (thanks to Professor McGonagall, who wouldn't see someone like me not going and decided to pay for my full seven years tuition), I felt bubbly! Maybe it was the fact that I was free from hell, that Tom had accepted my stay and seemed happy about it, that I had a job, that I hadn't had to steal a piece of toast and make sure I wasn't caught to have some food in me, or maybe because my hair scare happened to have been just that! I let out a huge sigh of relief as I saw my hair was brown, just like it had always been. I laughed at my silliness from last night. It had taken all of my self-control to not scream when I saw myself in the mirror, with red, curly, not bushy, hair. I had thought my head had gone up in flames!

I smiled as I took the tray that had the breakfast Tom had sent up into my room. I felt slightly bad for not having eaten even close to a quarter of it, but I wasn't used to eating so much. I couldn't have me falling ill for stuffing myself! Besides, it was best not to get too used to any commodities... one never knew, after all.

I headed down stairs tray in hand. I blushed and smiled shyly at Tom when he gave me a piercing look when he saw that I had only had a single piece of toast with jam and a sip of pumpkin juice. He seemed to know I didn't want to talk about my obvious lack of appetite, and just nodded his acquiescence.

My body tensed as I saw a streak of black and platinum walking towards the other side of the Leaky Cauldron, towards the back entrance into Diagon Alley. I felt my senses seize up in momentary panic. I definitely hadn't thought I'd be seeing anyone that would recognize me so soon if at all. Okay, that had been stupid of me, but come on it was barely my first full day here and here was someone that would definitely recognize me: Lucius Bastard Malfoy.

I kept my eyes locked on his back as I made for my escape into the side room, which was, fortunately, on the other side of the stairs, so it would block me from view. Suddenly, I slammed into something with such force that nearly had me toppling to the ground, but before I could hit the floor strong gentle hands pulled me up. My heart began pounding erratically as my body molded into his and my eyes locked onto molten gray eyes that resembled molten mercury.

"I'm sorry," he murmured as his eyes seemed to pull me into their depths.

Merlin, I could spend eternity swimming through those silver pools of his. As his eyes pulled me deeper, I saw a blazing fire burning with passion and fury. Oh Godric, I could _feel_ his passion burning deeply within my own chest.

The Draco I could see in his eyes was so different from the Draco that the rest of the world saw. They were completely different. The Draco I could see now was fire. He was the same Draco I met on the Express, the same Draco that warned me during Cup last summer.

He was burning to break free. He was warm. He was passionate. He was _my_ Draco. He was the Draco I knew existed beneath the layers of ice he was compelled to uphold.

"So, so beautiful," he breathed, melting my insides.

I blinked trying to hold onto my wits before they abandoned me and I ended up closing the tortuous distance between my lips and his. Why couldn't I again? Why wasn't I supposed to when I really, really wanted to?

"Draco," I breathed, my lips hovering over his.

_"Control Hermione. Control!" _my thoughts screamed as I tore my eyes away from his. _"He doesn't see you like that so stop being so bloody ridiculous!"_

I shook my head, trying to shake away the effects of his burning, intense gaze, trying to ignore the warmth spreading throughout my body, trying to ignore how right it felt to be in his arms, his body pressed against mine. Why did it have to feel so right? Why did it feel so perfect, when it was impossible? I swallowed hard as he closed his eyes.

"Sorry," he said softly as he let go of my waist.

"_No, don't let go..." _I heard myself wishing.

This had to stop! I was being absolutely bloody ridiculous. The fact that things had changed on my end of the world did not by any means mean that anything had changed in Dra-_Malfoy's _world. I was still me, a Gryffindor muggleborn, and he was still him, a Slytherin pureblood from and extremely bigoted dark family.

"I…It was my fault. I'm sorry. I have to go," I said shakily as my reason finally decided to grace me with its presence, and I put some space between us.

"Are you coming Draco?" his father drawled.

I saw his eyes begin to glaze over, extinguishing the fire that had been burning so intensely seconds before. He clenched his jaw determinedly, fighting off the cloudiness that threatened to take over.

_"Oh Merlin! His eyes...his will... there's my proof. He didn't just _change_... it's a compulsion charm, must be… maybe more than one, definitely strong," _my mind diagnosed.

"Hermione…" he began.

I swooned slightly at the way my name rolled off his tongue, as if he were used to calling me Hermione and not Granger. I never knew Hermione could sound so pretty before. There was no doubt about it, Hermione was officially the best name ever, so long as _he _said it like that.

"You have to go too," I told him softly, even though I didn't want him to go. I wanted to stay here in his arms, his breath brushing over my lips.

"But-"

"Just go, no one can know," I interrupted, praying that he'd simply let it be.

"No one will, not if I can help it," he promised.

Once he left, I let myself freak out. Merlin's wand, what the hell is going on? I was obliviated. He is being controlled. What else is going on? Are our situations related in any way? If they are, how are they related? What is the objective? What is there to gain? Most importantly of all, how the hell am I supposed to get some answers?

…_..three days later..._

I beamed at my most recent accomplishment. I felt a twinge of nervousness in my chest as I thought about Tom. He would be proud, wouldn't he? Yes, he would, I assured myself. I chuckled at my own silliness. I was getting nervous for nothing. Well, it wasn't _nothing, _Tom had cared for me and shown me more love in the past three days than any other adult had, not counting the Richards, in the entirety of my life span, and I wanted him to be proud.

I had never done anything with any hopes of making anyone proud for the mere reason that I didn't _have_ anyone that would actually care about what I did or didn't do, but now I had Tom, and he showed he cared at least on some level. He cared about my well-being and my happiness. He went out of his way to make sure I wasn't lonely or sad. He _cared_. It may be because I reminded him of his daughter, but he cared nonetheless.

I sighed glancing at the tomes that were still stacked in the corner. I had yet to ask Tom's permission to go through the tomes, but I had gone through everything else. I had everything archived by year and then by month by the end of the first day, and now two days later I had finished doing the math. 15,273 galleons, 15 sickles and 8 knuts had yet to be paid for either meals, drinks, or rooms, and he had to claim 357 galleons that the liquor supplier had skivvied off throughout the years.

I felt my blood boil at the thought of people taking advantage of Tom's kind-hearted and trusting nature. It was a miracle the Leaky Cauldron hadn't gone out of business, and that was only thanks to the existence of honest wizards who refused to take advantage of Tom's trust.

"Hermione?" Tom called as he peered into the room.

"Tom, come in," I prompted cheerfully.

"My, you're in a good mood," he chuckled.

"Yep," I beamed.

"May I ask why?"

"Well… I may or may not have finished a certain task I was assigned three days ago," I replied nonchalantly.

_"Ha, ha! Are you honest?__" _he replied, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

I felt my mouth pop open for a few seconds, having recognized the allusion. He was a pureblood wizard, who had lived his entire life in the wizarding world! How in the name of Merlin did he know Shakespeare well enough to quote a not too famous part of _Hamlet_?

_"My lord?"_ I replied, playing along.

_"Are you fair?"_

_"What means your lordship?"_

_"That if you be honest and fair, your honesty should admit no discourse to your beauty_," he finished chuckling.

"Tom, I had no idea that you were a connoisseur of Shakespeare."

"Well, I wasn't until… well it's of no matter," he trailed off, clearing his throat. "I was going to give this to you later, but now seems like the perfect time," he said smiling.

I smiled sadly. I was certainly hearing that a lot lately. I still needed to write to them. I had notebooks and pens somewhere in the recesses of my trunk, I was sure. I eyed Tom curiously as he pulled out a tiny package from his cloak and enlarged it before handing it to me.

"Oh, Tom, thank you," I exclaimed hugging him tightly.

"You haven't even seen it yet," he laughed.

"You didn't have to Tom, but you did anyway, and that means the world to me," I said emotion coating my words.

I couldn't help it. I wish I could, but I really couldn't. It was just so much. He had done so much for me, and I really wished I wasn't so emotional, but Draco's appearance the other day had seemed to have weakened the dam that kept my emotions at bay.

"Oh Hermione," he said softly, seeing the tears welling up in my eyes.

_"Get a sodding grip Hermione. No emotional displays. No emotional displays."_

"Please tell me it's not what I'm thinking," he pleaded, the pain evident in his tone.

"Can I open it Tom?" I asked, pretending I didn't hear him.

"Of course," he choked out, trying to put on a brave smile.

"_The Mind Arts: History_, _Legilimency &amp; Occlumency: Magic of the Mind, The Lost Arts of the Mind_! Thank you Tom!" I squealed as I read the titles of the books he had gotten me.

He didn't know it, but he had probably saved both my mind and my life. He really had no idea exactly how much he had helped me, but I would make sure he knew exactly how grateful I was.

...that night in Little Whinging...

**Harry's POV**

_"You are loved, so so loved—Let go Harry! Let go!"_

_"Avada kedavra," flashes of green danced around me._

"Cedric!" I yelled wrenching up in my bed.

The night was cold, yet I felt like I was suffocating. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't sleep. I had no peace. The images just flooded back every damn night. I felt so alone, but at the same time I knew I wasn't. I had Hermione. Her letter had already made the nightmares a lot more manageable. I could actually wake up from them now.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my erratic breathing. Yet, thinking of 'Mione only made me more upset. Here I was freaking out about stupid nightmares, when she was out there, Godric knows where, doing Helga knows what. Was she okay? Did she have a roof over her head, meals to eat, and people with her? Was she safe?

"Hush, Harry, it'll be alright. The winds have finally changed course," the voice cooed, immediately making me relax. I slumped into my bed, my heavy eyes, falling closed.

"Hedwig?" I mumbled trying to stay awake.

"Sleep," the voice cooed once more, as I drifted back to sleep. My slumber was thankfully void of death or worries of my friend who was so much more.

**A/N Thank you to everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed. Please, please review! It means a lot to me!**

**On a side note, I recommend reading Hamlet. It is really good, and by reading it you'll get a lot of Shakespearean quotes/allusions. Just saying. **


	7. Fate at Work, a Second Encounter

**A/N Please review. Comments, questions, and constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged. ^_^**

**Anyways, this chapter is officially edited as well. Y'all should be proud. It's the second one today and I did four... maybe more yesterday! :D **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. JK Rowling does, however.**

…. A Few Days Later...

(so around a week and a half since Hermione has been at the Leaky Cauldron)

**Draco's POV**

"Are you sure you'll be fine going to Diagon Alley on your own, Draco?" my mother asked for the umpteenth time.

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. I had waited almost two weeks. They couldn't possibly expect me to not to go looking for her, not that they knew of course. They'd crucio me until I wasn't right in the head and then they avada me for ever daring to even take a second look at her. Although technically I never gave her a second glance. I hadn't been able to stop looking ever since I first laid eyes on her.

"Stop coddling him Narcissa," my father hissed as I reassured my mother, "I'll be fine mother. It's just a trip to Flourish and Blotts."

"... _and the Leaky Cauldron and hopefully lunch at a cafe or even Fortescue's," _I thought hopefully.

"You will be back before I arrive from the ministry in the evening."

"Yes, father."

"Very well," he drawled as he stepped into the green flames of the fireplace.

"I'll be back mother, don't worry yourself," I said as I stepped into the fireplace, a handful of floo powder in my hand. "Flourish and Blotts!"

I felt the tell-tale pull on my navel of magical transportation as I swirled through the flurry of fireplaces until I tumbled out at my destination. Freedom! Merlin that hurt!

"Ouch!" she cried as I stumbled, my body sending us both crashing to the floor.

The warmth I felt spreading throughout my whole body left no doubts as to who was pinned under me. I smiled at the impossibility of such a coincidence. It couldn't have possibly worked out any better... well I could have not nearly killed her, but I certainly wasn't complaining. I was rather enjoying this.

"We really should stop meeting like this," I said softly, as I brushed her hair off her face, "although, I can't really complain."

"Yes, well you aren't the one being smothered to death now are you," she retorted, her face blushing beautifully.

"My, I never thought I'd see the day! Hermione Granger being little miss melodramatic," I teased not moving, fully enjoying the proximity.

"Yes, well it seems to have rubbed off," she grumbled before starting a dramatic monologue. "But sadly I have been bested, and there's not much I can do," she said in a distraught tone, pressing the back of her hand to her forehead. "After all, how will I, little miss melodramatic, _ever_ get on the level of Hogwarts drama queen, Draco Malfoy," she finished not able to hold back a smirk that would put me to shame.

"Ouch! Seems like the brave little lion pulled out her claws," I chuckled.

"It was about time," she murmured to herself, evidently not thinking I would hear, but I did and I couldn't help but wonder what that was about.

"And it seems like the snake is petrified at the sight of the lion," she teased, her eyes sparkling with mirth. She was so damn beautiful.

"Not petrified, just breathless," I replied smoothly.

"Seriously?" she asked incredulously, cocking an eyebrow.

"One can't help but be rendered breathless by such beauty."

"Draco, seriously, get off," she mumbled blushing as redder than the Weasel's hair.

"Only if you promise not to run away from me," I replied a brilliant idea coming to mind.

"Fine, I won't run away from the oh so fearsome dragon," she sighed.I didn't know why, but I really like her calling me Dragon. It just fit. It made me giddy for some stupid, unexplainable reason. I smiled mischievously before grabbing her waist. Her eyes had barely widened in surprise as I rolled us over, making her body end up on top of mine. Her face flushed as she realized she was sprawled on top of me.

"Merlin, Draco, honestly," she gasped as soon as her blush subsided a bit.

"What?" I asked innocently. "I'm the one being smothered to death here, but I'll let you in on a secret," I whispered into her ear.

"Oh?"

"It's worth it."

"Huh?"

"If being smothered to death is what it takes to be close to you, then I think I'd be willing to die every day of my miserable existence," I breathed sitting up, causing her to straddle my waist.

"You- you- you," she spluttered, tears welling up in her eyes, hurt written all over her face, as she tried to scramble off me.

_"Oh Merlin, what did I do? Please don't let me screw this up. We were going so well. That's it isn't it? I-I probably misunderstood something and- why do I have to be so bloody stupid? Talk about no people skills."_

"Hermione, I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to make you hurt," I said softly as I snapped up onto my feet and grabbed ahold of her wrist before she could make a run for it.

Her eyes met mine. Her brown eyes melted into that beautiful myriad of colors I had seen nearly two weeks ago. Behind the colors I could see her sadness, her confusion, the hope and the betrayal, the wariness, the vulnerability. Tears brimmed her eyes, threatening to spill onto her cheeks. It broke my heart. My Hermione shouldn't be hurting, she was never supposed to hurt. I tore at me knowing that I had caused that pain.

"Please let me go Draco," she begged, trying to pull her wrist from my grasp.

"I can't Hermione," I said softly, only then realizing how true that was.

I couldn't let her go. I just couldn't. I couldn't let her go, when I had just gotten this much closer to her. I couldn't not when she wasn't pushing me away, not when she apparently didn't hate me as much as she should, especially not when she was hurting. I just couldn't.

"Please just tell me what I did," I begged.

-O-

**Hermione's POV**

"I can't Hermione, please just tell me what I did," he pleaded.

"It's not you, bloody hell, it's me. It's me! What's wrong with me?" I cried softly, the tears I had been holding back rolling down my cheeks.

"Tell me what's wrong?" he asked softly.

"Draco, I-I it hurts, and I don't know why. Something in here," I motioned to my chest, "tells me to trust you with my life, but my mind, the part that wants to keep me from hurting, wants to push you out, tell you to sod off, and then hex you into oblivion, but then there's the other part of my mind that knows that **you** never hurt me, yet I feel like you betrayed me, like you abandoned me the second you were given the chance…" I trailed off mustering my thoughts before continuing. "And I feel so sodding vulnerable because no matter how hard I want to push you away, I can't. I can't Draco, and just thinking about it hurts, but thinking about how much it could hurt if I kept you close hurts too," I finished, tearing my eyes from his face, ashamed.

I sounded so pathetic, so weak. I had just bared my soul to him. I couldn't believe I had just done that. He must be so repulsed by me. The allegedly brave lion had proved to be nothing more than a frightened little bunny. I had to get away before-

"Hermione, don't," he whispered. "You promised you wouldn't run," he said as his hand cupped my cheek. "Don't be embarrassed, and don't deny it either. I can feel it Hermione. I can see what you're feeling, and now I know that it wasn't something I did now, but something I've been doing since we set foot in Hogwarts."

"Draco, you didn't do it though," I argued feebly.

"But it wa-" he blinked.

_"Shit, you did it now Hermione. Now what are you going to do? He might not even know about it and there you go blabbing! First you go crazy and tell him all about your feelings and then you do this!"_

"Hang on, how do you know?" he asked slowly, obviously not knowing how to react.

"I… it's a long story," I replied unable to meet his gaze. I had really done it now, hadn't I?

-O-

**Draco's POV**

"I… it's a long story," she said, suddenly very interested in the tips of her hair.

Oh no she didn't. She wasn't going to keep this from me. There weren't supposed to be secrets between us! Wait, where had that come from. It didn't matter right now, all that mattered was that it didn't feel right for her to purposefully keep things from me, and that there was a lot behind her sudden apparent stay in the magical world.

"I have time."

"Do you know what Occlumency is?" she asked evasively.

"I sure hope so, I've been practicing it since I was seven."

"Drats," she cursed under her breath.

"Hermione, how do you know?" I asked again, a bit more forcefully.

"I… remember last time we met?" she asked. How could I forget, but I nodded nonetheless and she continued, "Well, I saw something in your eyes that led me to the conclusion."

"Hermione, stop being so damn evasive!" I growled.

"We're in a book store! Excuse me for not conveying my secrets to you in such a public place!" she hissed, her temper flaring. Was it just me or did her hair just flash red for a second there?

"Your secrets!? I'm sorry, but I do believe this is my secret not yours," I answered harshly.

"Well contrary to what you so ardently believe, not everything is about you," she snapped.

"Fine, how about we compromise? We will purchase the books we came for. Then we walk around the alley while you enlighten me," I said in a tone that left little room for objection.

"Are you crazy? The point of all of this is laying low. You attract way too much attention," she snapped impatiently, evidently trying to get rid of me.

"I am sure that I won't be attracting attention if nobody knows it's me, and I'm sure altering our appearances isn't much too difficult," I replied sarcastically.

"You're impossible!" she groaned exasperated.

"Au contraire, I think you're making this much more difficult that it needs to be. Besides, I think I have a right to know, don't you?"She sighed, nodding resignedly.

"But… now it'll be two too many," she mumbled to herself. I ignored her.

"You do me, I do you?" I asked brightly, trying to lighten the mood. She rolled her eyes.

"That sounds incredibly wrong, you know?" she smiled whipping out her wand.

"Oh, I know," I chuckled.

"Prat," she laughed smacking my arm.

My heart soared at the accomplishment. She had such a beautiful laugh. It was music to my ears. I should have been making her laugh for the past four years, but instead I had made her cry and let others make her cry. I was such a worthless piece of shit!

"All done," she chirped after a minute.

"Please tell me you didn't make me hideous," I groaned.

"I don't think it's physically possible to be any more hideous than you usually are, but I must say I have performed a miracle!" she said, her eyes shining mischievously.

My blood went ice cold. Knowing just how good that witch was with a wand, I wouldn't be surprised if I looked uglier than a slobbering mountain troll! I wouldn't be able to go out anywhere with her if I looked like shit. She would be well within her rights to claim that I attracted too much attention.

"Thanks to me, I'd have to say you look rather dashing now!" she laughed after having let me squirm for a good thirty seconds.

I narrowed my eyes at her, and just as I was about to conjure a mirror, she took my wand from my hand.

"Oh no you don't, you're not getting a glimpse of your new look until I have mine," she chided, light-heartedly.

"Yes ma'am," I saluted.

I smiled as I started on her eyes. I turned them into the vibrant hazel I had seen her brown eyes transform into last time. I debated whether changing any of her facial features would be worthwhile, but I decided against it and settled for changing her bushy brown hair into sleek, slightly wavy, vibrant, fiery red hair.

"All done," I smiled, conjuring a small mirror.

-O-

**Hermione's POV**

He conjured a mirror, and we both took in our modified appearances. I laughed as I took in mine. I was beautiful. My eyes, Merlin, my eyes! From afar they would only be considered a very vibrant hazel, but, upon closer inspection, they proved to be bright pools of a myriad of colors: small pools of silver and gold, swirls of blue and green. My eyes flitted to my hair, the only other thing he altered. It was a vibrant red, darker and richer than any of the Weasleys'.

"You know, now all that teasing makes sense," I laughed, not able to resist the opportunity to tease him.

"What?" he asked, tearing his eyes away from his now curly black hair and healthier skin tone.

"You obviously have a thing for redheads. It would explain why you sneer at all the Weasleys so much," I teased.

He glared at me for a few moments before stealing another glance at his reflection and smirking.

"Well… I could definitely say something about your own preferences," he drawled.

"Oh really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, you seem to have a certain infatuation with one fugitive mass murderer: Sirius Black," he deadpanned.

"W-what?" I sputtered.

"Well, if I recall correctly, you did say I looked rather dashing, and considering how I look like a carbon copy of Sirius at our age… I think it is quite easy to reach a conclusion don't you?" he continued nonchalantly.

"What books did you come for?" I asked changing the subject.

I certainly didn't want to even go down that alley. Sirius, blugh, no thanks! He was old enough to be my father, and he was Harry's godfather. He's like my honorary uncle, since Harry is like a brother to me!

"Nothing in particular, I just needed something to keep me from dying of boredom," he replied, "but I must say this outing turned out much better than any book I could have gotten."

"So in other words you planned on finding out why I was in the Cauldron, but a happy coincidence saw us bumping into each other," I replied snootily, mock glaring at him.

"I wouldn't call it a coincidence per se, more of a dream come true. I mean being graced to be in the presence of such an angel!"

Damn his charms, bloody git! I was not going to swoon like all those brainless, vapid twits at school!

"Merlin, no wonder you have the Hogwarts female population swooning after you," I chuckled, trying to hide my own swooning. He raised an eyebrow at my comment, a knee-weakening smirk already plastered onto his visage. Damn it!

"For Godric's sake you cannot possibly deny that you do lay the charm on thick!" I exclaimed, causing me to blush violently seconds later as I realized what I was practically admitting to.

"Oh do I?" he said innocently, his smirk morphing into a lopsided smile that made my stomach flutter wildly.

_"Salazar, he's going to be death of me!"_

"You know you do. _Anyways,_ help me look for books that could possibly have information on how to test occlumency and legilimency," I said hastily.

"That's easy, you need someone who knows the art as well," he replied without hesitation. I rolled my eyes.

"No! Really?" I replied sarcastically. "I know that, I just don't have anyone who can test my own shields, and I need to test my legilimency, so I need to see if there are any alternativ-"

"Hermione, honestly, what am I, a sitting duck?"

"No, in all _siriusness,_ you're a standing dragon," I joked.

-O-

**Draco's POV**

"Here I go," I said the second before attempting to penetrate Hermione's mind.

She had to be perfect in anything didn't she? Her mind was unreadable. All I could see was darkness, and her amused hazel eyes. Her hazel eyes, _hazel_, not _brown_. Holy shit!

_"Care to share with the class?"_ her mind asked bemused, the echoes reverberating in the empty space.

_"That bloody hurts woman!"_

_"Then get out," she said simply, before expelling me from her mind._

"Bloody hell, Hermione, how long have you been working at this?" I exclaimed.

"Almost two weeks, but it helped that I had naturally gone through the first two steps. I just had to work on fortifying my already present walls and creating mental traps," she answered blushing brightly. She was so cute when she blushed like that.

"How?"

"Well, the female species has this wonderful ability called multi-tasking, so I was able to work on my Occlumency constantly, and I've been dedicating some time on the side for Legilimency," she said matter-of-factly.

"Legilimency?" Damn this girl was really something, not that I hadn't known this before, but she was always amazing me.

"I don't think I'm very good at it since Tom has never practiced Occlumency, but…" she trailed off shrugging.

"Well, let's see how good you are," I smirked.

"Draco, I can't. It's no-"

"Hermione, I have my shields too, and don't worry. _If _you get through, you'll only see some things I think you'll find interesting," I cut her off.

Without warning I felt her stab into my mind. I raised my shields. I didn't know why, but everything in me was screaming at me to let her in. It was like every fibre in my being refused to keep her out. This only made her attack even stronger. Much to my amazement, I was able to keep my defences up for two excruciatingly long minutes.

She smirked before I felt her back off from her mental assault. I thought about lowering my shields, but thought better of it. Hermione was stubborn, she wouldn't give up after a couple of minutes, and something about that smirk completely discouraged the idea of lowering my shields. It wasn't long before I felt something flow under my walls. I wasn't able to stop the attack since it didn't feel like an attack. Hell, it was like my mind was welcoming her! I wouldn't have even reached the conclusion that she had gotten through, had it not been for her smirk.

_"You sneaky minx!" _my mind bellowed.

-O-

_**Hermione's POV**_

_"You sneaky minx!" _he bellowed.

I couldn't hold back a giggle. What did he expect, honestly? The prat challenged me! Of course I was going to get through his shields!

_"Hermione, I'm going to show you what I wanted to show you okay?" _he said as soon as he was done playing the indignant bit.

The memory of our last encounter played through his mind. The elation he felt when heard my voice, the pull he felt when looking into my eyes, much like the pull I felt, the morphing of my eyes into the vibrant hazel he had transfigured my eyes into. Sweet Rowena! He likes me! He really likes me!

_"Now look at this," _he said, allowing me to see his account of when he had attempted to penetrate my mind. It was all darkness, but instead of the brown eyes I had expected to see, they were hazel.

_"Mia, I don't think this is normal," _his mind whispered.

I withdrew from his mind and fell into his arms, exhausted. This was much more interactive than I was used to. I had prevented his infiltration, and shortly thereafter I had gotten through his walls, infiltrated his mind, and maintained the connection much longer than I had ever attempted.

"Mia?" I finally asked.

"Mia," he repeated, his eyes searing into mine.

"You do know that means mine in Spanish, don't you?" I asked, feeling my knees wobble.

"Of course, I do," he purred into my ear. "Now, stop evading our pending conversation. What are you doing here? Not here here, but here, and how did you get to that frightfully accurate conclusion?"

"Draco, I'm going to let you into my mind, okay? It's safer… we can discuss things over an ice cream, my treat yeah?" I proposed.

"No way!" he exclaimed indignant.

I felt my heart deflate at his horrified expression. Damn it hurt. I had thought that he liked me, at least a bit, but apparently I had a knack for misinterpretation and not seeing the obvious. I was still a mudblood and he was a pureblood. He wasn't going to lower himself to spending time with someone like m-

"I am paying and there's nothing you can do about it!" he said cheerfully as he dragged me out of the bookstore. I blinked completely befuddled. He wanted to spend time with me? He wanted to spend time with me!

_-O-_

**Draco's POV**

_"Mia, I think it's all related… everything. You're not who you think you are, your memories, Tom's, and Sirius's were modified, and I'm, as far as we know, under compulsion charms. It would be too much of a coincidence if it weren't related,_" I mused after having come down from cloud nine after seeing that my feelings were reciprocated, and having seen her thoughts on the subject.

She hadn't let me see why she was now in the Leaky Cauldron or what exactly led her to the conclusion of her obliviation, but she allowed me to see everything else. Her admiration for Tom, the love and warmth with which he treated her, the task she had been working on since she arrived, her studies of the Mind Arts, everything.

_"I guess you're right," _she sighed.

"Dragon?" she asked after a few seconds.

"Yeah, Mia," I asked, smiling at the nickname she had given me after arguing that it was only fair that I have one too.

"My eyes, what do you think… I mean they…" she struggled for words, but I knew what she was asking. After all, it was what was bothering me as well. The implications it could signify were quite horrendous.

"Mia, I think… well… I'm not sure, but I think that maybe you aren't who you think you are, who you were led to believe you are… I mean, it would make sense… why else would they have gone through the trouble of obliviating you, if it wasn't to hide something," I reasoned.

The second I said it out loud, I knew she had already reached the same conclusion, but was hoping the situation wasn't as mucked up as it obviously was. I sighed. Just when things had started looking brighter, they just had to get so much more complicated. Fate was really a bitch, she just had to bugger everything, didn't she?

"And here I was, hoping I was being paranoid , and you just have to mess everything up don't you?" she whined, pouting adorably. What I would give to kiss that pout away, and maybe leave her nice plump lips red and slightly swollen.

"Alright, who are you, and what have you done to Hermione Granger," I asked playfully, relishing in the excitement and contentment radiating from her.

I smiled as I let it wash over me, warming my entire being, down to the very depths of my soul. Merlin, what was happening to me? I felt like I would burst from feeling her joy and the joy I felt seeing her happiness. Suddenly, I felt her joy dampen monumentally.

"Dragon, we have to part ways," she sighed.

"But-"

"We're friends now, and neither distance nor anything you say because of your charming little problem can or will change that, but nothing can change," she said cutting me off, her voice filled with such finality, that I was immediately incensed.

We were friends now, just had a heart to heart... kind of, and she wanted to just drop it, just like that? What the hell?! I had just gotten her, and now she wouldn't allow me to be near her? This had to be one sick joke. Besides, it wasn't as if we were going to be friends for long, well not if I had a say on the matter.

"I said I wasn't letting you go, and I'm not Mia," I growled glaring at her.

"Well it's a good thing I'm not asking you to, isn't it?" she replied with sweet sarcasm. I opened my mouth to retort, but before I could utter a syllable she said, "Everything will remain the same. That's the only way we can bring this to an end."

"And why the hell can't we meet like we did today?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Because," Hermione replied stubbornly.

"Because isn't good enough, now give me a good reason," I hissed.

"Bite me," she snapped.

Godric, she was bloody impossible. I glared at her, closing the already small distance between us.I towered over her as she glared at me defiantly. She really thought she was going to win this one, didn't she? Well if she wasn't going to be reasonable, I most certainly wasn't going to play fair. With a smirk, I lowered my face to the crook of her neck, my breath caressing her exposed skin. I smirked wider as I saw her shiver. Thank Merlin she was attracted to me and for teenage hormones! That was the only way this would work.

"No, I don't think that'd be punishment enough," I breathed huskily, nipping her earlobe between every other word.

My breath caught in my throat as she angled her neck, giving me better access to her beautiful, tantalizing skin. My nose trailed across her cheek of its own accord, absorbing her sweet honey scent. She was so soft, smelled so good. She was quick-witted. She was kind and fair. She was absolutely brilliant and had a fiery temper. She was breathtaking. She was perfect; she was my perfection.

"You-you-you arse!" she spluttered suddenly, pushing me away.

-O-

**Hermione's POV**

"Because isn't good enough, now give me a good reason," he hissed, his eyes flashing dangerously. Did he have to get so bloody angry?!

"Bite me," I snapped. I swallowed hard as his eyes hardened and he closed the already small distance between us.

Shite, I just had to snap, didn't I? Now he's pissed, and looks so sodding snoggable. I want-I want to throw myself at him and attack his lips viciously with mine, but I knew I couldn't. Was I bloody crazy? I had to be. We were moving too fast. I was falling too fast.

Hell, I _already _had fallen too fast. I shouldn't be reacting like this. Our interaction in school was limited to snide remarks and insults. Besides those instances, we didn't see each other unless it was a stolen glance from across a classroom or the Great Hall. It wasn't normal to feel so attuned to each other, and it was scaring the crap out of me.

What if it wasn't really me who was feeling these things for Draco? What if we were both being manipulated by the bastard who changed my appearance, erased my memory and Tom's and Sirius's, and had Draco under compulsion charms? Or worse yet, what if Draco was the only one being manipulated to feel what he appeared to feel for me?

The second we solved this whole mess, he would break away from me and see the bushy-haired, beaver-faced, boring bookworm and frustrating know-it-all that everyone else saw, and so I stared at him as defiantly as I could. Everything would stay the same until we put an end to all this nonsense, and then, only when I was sure of what this inexplicable, undeniable, much too strong pull is, would we be able to explore any possibilities, and so, I stood erect, tense, unwilling to cave.

We stared into each other's eyes for what seemed an eternity, neither of us willing to back down. What was his problem? Couldn't he see the problem with all of this? Wasn't he afraid that this wasn't real, that this wasn't us? Suddenly, his eyes lit up, a smirk gracing his visage.

_"Crap," _was all I could think before my mind went blank.

I was oblivious to everything but his lips millimeters from my neck, the shivers his breath on my sensitive skin elicited, the frantic pounding of my heart beating wildly in my chest, the warmth pooling in my , I felt his teeth tugging at my earlobe as he said, "no, I don't think that'd be punishment enough." Holy Founders, that husky voice was sexy enough to turn any female into putty. His attention moved from my neck to my cheek, slowly, torturously, making his way to my lips.

"You-you-you arse!" I spluttered miraculously regaining my wits. I pushed him away, trying to get away from his intoxicating presence.

That arse was taking advantage of his good looks and his effects on me to make me cave! Oh that that that stupid... absolutely gorgeous, charming, witty... Godric! I should kill him! He was going to be the death of me!

"If you're not going to be reasonable, I hardly see why I have to play fair," he drawled, closing the distance between us once more.

"I'm being unreasonable!?" I hissed, trying to keep up my resolve, even though it was crumbling with every second.

"Yes, you are," he replied simply.

"Honestly Draco! I am not being unreasonable. Tell me I'm not the only one who sees this is not normal!" I pleaded.

He didn't reply, but his stubborn look told me enough. He didn't want to let go, and from his view I was simply trying to get away from him. My resolve had never been strong enough to go against something we both wanted, but I had to try.

"Dragon… listen okay? No- don't. Wait. You need to listen," I said before we started arguing again. We had argued on and off during the afternoon, but it had been silly, flirtatious bantering as opposed to this heated discussion.

"I don't want to get away from you. I want you to never let go. I want to be in your arms. I feel safe, happy, and free when I'm with you, but that's the thing. I mean think about it. We don't talk to each other at school unless it's to insult each other. We don't really see each other, excluding stolen glances, of course," I said wryly. "Dragon, this isn't normal. How can we feel so strongly for each other? How can we feel such happiness just from being in each other's presence. I mean this is really the first, well the second if you count the train ride, day we spend together? What if… when we solve this whole thing we realize that… it wasn't real? What if you end up see what everybody else sees? Draco, I can't risk that. I wouldn't be able to take it. It would only add to everything, and I don't think I'd be able to… I just can't, okay? I know it's selfish, bu-"

"Mia, stop. Stop fretting," he whispered. "Mia, I don't know what you've been put through, but I can tell you this: you don't see yourself clearly. You don't see how others see you. You only hear what they say, but you don't see how they see you. You see this as if it were a setup, something that was manufactured by the bastard who decided to meddle in our lives, but… I feel this is something, something that is being suppressed, something that they meant never to happen but was obviously meant to be. I know you're hurting. I know you're afraid, but don't let the pain and fear control you," he said softly, cradling my tear-smeared face. When had I started crying?

Pain and fear, those are the best means of manipulation available. They always had been. Fear induces rashness, while pain makes one blind to everything but itself. A world of pain and fear was a dark one, one without escape. I was launching myself into that world, thinking that he would introduce me into an even darker world, but I knew, with every fiber of my being, Draco, my dragon, would never hurt me intentionally. He was neither friend nor foe, he was so much more.

_**A/N Edited! Yay! I hope y'all enjoyed it! ^_^**_

_**Anyways, I would like to thank everyone who REVIEWED (hint, hint, nudge nudge), followed and/or favorited. Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :D**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	8. Not Them, Not Dead

**A/N Well, here's another chapter! The chapter is semi-long and it may seem like a filler chapter, but things should advance next chapter. I'm planning on taking it back to Harry. I feel I've been neglecting him quite a bit.**

**I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed, followed and/or favorited either me or my story! Thank you so much! It really makes me happy and makes me feel all mushy and happy inside.**

**Oh before I forget! Please Review! ^_^**

**Hermione's POV**

"Stop smiling like that," I scolded him, blushing brightly.

He looked like he had either hit jackpot or his wildest dream came true. Then, when I mentioned this he had only said that he had gotten so much more. This saw me blushing so bright I was sure that had we been in the muggle world cars would have been stopping left and right. The bright grin paired with the utter joy reflected in those mercurial orbs of his were doing funny things to my insides and making not very innocent thoughts flit through my mind, and I didn't like it one bit.

"How can I, Mia?" he asked grinning even wider. "My little lion isn't running away from her fierce dragon."

I blushed heavily at his words. He said it like he wouldn't look at anyone else ever. Just the thought of him being mine, mine and only mine, elicited unrestrained joy. I don't think the mere idea of _anything _ever made me so joyous! This really isn't normal.

"Alright, so we'll meet-"

"-_at least_ once a week, at the Leaky Cauldron," he interrupted me.

"Dragon," I chided him sternly, only to see him pouting, his eyes wide, innocent, and pleading.

"Please, I'll be good," he coaxed, playing with my hair. Damn him!

"You are impossible," I groaned, making him smile widely before lifting and spinning me around in the middle of the Alley.

"Dragon!" I giggled slapping his back, trying to get him to put me down.

"Fine," he sighed. "Now, let's get you to the Cauldron," he said silkily, offering me his arm.

"Why thank you my dragon… you know keep this up and you might just earn yourself the title of prince," I said cheekily.

"Oh heavens no!" he exclaimed, feigning horror. "I'd much rather be the fearsome dragon that keeps all the knights and princes away from my princess," he finished his voice deep, almost a growl.

I bit my lip, internally crumbling at the possessiveness coloring his tone. I never thought that possessiveness could be so damn sexy! I chuckled at the ridiculousness my reaction. Instead of becoming angry at his possessiveness, I was finding it extremely attractive and just _right_. We stopped walking, his eyes boring into me with a strange gleam.

"It's not ridiculous you know. It's supposed to feel right," he murmured softly.

"How?" How had he known?

"I don't know. I- recently… I've been _feeling_ things… it's hard to explain. I don't know what this is…" he stammered nervously.

"I'll do some research, 'kay?" I said brightly.

I wasn't sure what kind of books I would need, but maybe I could start off with some books on bonds? I'm sure there should be something in there about all this immediate trust and knowing what the other is thinking and feeling thing...

"And we can do some research together whenever I come over too," he said grinning broadly.

"You just want an excuse to come over more often," I mock glared. I actually wasn't too opposed to the idea. It would be nice to have someone researching with me for a change.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he scoffed as we walked into the Cauldron.

"Of course you don't. You never were very bright," I drawled smirking.

"Li-Lily? Sirius?" I heard Tom gasp just before hearing a loud thud.

"Tom!" I exclaimed horrified, as I ran to his unconscious form now slumped on the ground.

**-O-**

**Draco's POV**

"Li-Lily? Sirius?" I heard a vaguely familiar voice gasp incredulously before hearing something hit the ground.

"Tom!" Mia screeched, running to the figure that now lay on the ground. "Dragon, help me take him to my room," she pleaded.

Her hazel eyes shone with unshed tears as I levitated his body onto the stretcher she had already conjured. I followed her silently into what I supposed was her room as the stretcher trailed after us. I took my Mia's hand in mine, trying to give her some had told me how much he meant to her, but seeing it was an entirely different ordeal. She looked absolutely distraught, just as distraught or maybe even more so than when Potter was in the hospital wing.

_"What the hell had happened? Did he fall ill? Who the heck is Lily? Did he mean serious as in serious, or Sirius as in Sirius Black? Did he think I was him? If so, was it the shock then?"_

_"Renervate,"_ she mumbled, her wand trained on his unconscious body.

His eyes fluttered open. His mouth emitted a soft groan as he sat up. Suddenly, as if suddenly remembering falling on the ground, his eyes snapped open and locked onto Hermione's still transfigured features. His eyes widened comically before filling with panic and despair so palpable it hurt.

"Lily? Am I dead?" he questioned hysterically. "Oh dear Merlin! What's going to happen to Hermione now? She needs me. She needs someone to take care of her." he exclaimed sorrowfully, his blue eyes filling with desperation.

I could feel the love for this man flooding into my Mia's body, like a tidal wave, much like the sorrow he felt at the mere thought of having to abandon his dear Hermione. They had certainly connected deeply in these short two weeks she had spent here.

"Tom… I'm not Lily, and you're not dead," Hermione choked out, hugging Lord McKinnon fiercely.

"Hermione? What happened? What happened to your hair?"

"Erm… well…"

I didn't know if he knew anything, so hoping to avoid any questions that could possibly lead to our loaded, controversial discussion, I began to tell him of our run in in Flourish and Blotts and our subsequent decision to transfigure our appearance in order to have some ice cream without having to deal with prying eyes; however, Thomas Alexander McKinnon may be old (well just old enough to be my grandfather) but he was no fool. He raised an eyebrow and stared me down until I was reduced to a nervous mess, running my hands through my black curls. Hermione's beautiful laughter interrupted our stare down (well his staring me down).

"Tom, he knows, and Dragon, he knows what I told you," she laughed, before she launched into a much more thorough explanation than I had.

I was enthralled in her story, even though I had just lived through it myself. The way her eyes lit up with excitement, the bright smile on her face, and the adorable, wild gesturing she made with her hands, not to mention all the observations of the people around us that I failed to notice, having been too absorbed by my gorgeous Mia.

But then he asked how we knew each other well enough to be so chummy... I tensed, fearing Tom's reaction, as Hermione launched into our background story. Smiling fondly as she recounted how we had met first year on the Express, and cringing as she tried to be merciful about what a bloody arse I had been over the years. Even after she explained our compulsion charm theory, I was still a tittering, nervous mess, awaiting his verdict. What would he think of the tormentor of his unofficial granddaughter?

My Hermione loved this man, and I wanted, more than anything, **(**well anything not including Hermione, but I didn't want her, I _needed _her... she was my life, even if she didn't know it yet, and I hadn't really come to terms with it as of yet**)** his acceptance. His acceptance would allow the guilt that consumed me from within to finally have some closure.

Sure, she had forgiven me, but I knew I had hurt her more than she would ever admit, and yet, somehow, she had given me a second chance. That without a doubt had filled me with glee, but it had in no way abated my guilt and self-loath. She cared for me, so of course she had forgiven me and eventually the wounds I inflicted would heal, I reasoned, but if someone who cared for her half as much as I did could give me a second chance, I'd be able to put my shameful actions behind me once and for all, and allow myself to completely focus on making it all up to my Mia. I would no longer have anything to justify my perception of myself. I would no longer be able to see myself as the bastard who deserved nothing but scorn. Lord McKinnon's acceptance would mark me as the bastard who had a chance to redeem himself.

"So, _dragon,_ care to explain why you've had such a terrible influence on my sweet Hermione that she actually lied to me?" his voice low and menacing. I gulped heavily, even though I could not feel any hostility rolling off of his body.

"Sir?" Hermione asked softly, her voice trembling, her sadness and despair palpable (well at least to me).

"You, lass, told me you had yet to meet the lad you were destined to be with!" he accused indignantly. "You've known him for years and you almost kissed him last week!" he huffed petulantly, only to erupt in laughter seconds later.

I saw Mia relax and take a deep calming breath to get ahold of herself. My body sagged in relief. It was going to be okay. There was still hope for me. I could be a decent person and have people forget about what a git I was.

"I did not!" she exclaimed, blushing brightly.

"Lass, when a young man and woman look at each other like you two and the world seems to melt away around them and they slowly and unconsciously get closer to each other, with their lips only a piece of parchment away from touching… It's safe to say that you were about to kiss," he said smiling knowingly, his eyes full of warmth. Suddenly, his demeanor went serious and he turned to me. "Now, lad, I may not be her father, but I may as well be her grandfather, so this is the one time I'll be saying this, you break her heart and you will be on the receiving end of a litany of hexes so nasty you'll be wishing you had been fed to a dragon," he growled.

"I'd rather be kissed by a dementor than purposefully hurt my Mia, sir," I replied immediately, knowing it was true. I would not be able to live with myself if I caused my Mia any pain. It would be like killing my own soul.

He smiled satisfied at my response. I was about to respond in kind when, suddenly, all the happiness was sucked out of the room much like when in the presence of the very creatures I had mentioned. Immediately I had my wand out, looking for trouble. I may not be able to cast a patronus yet, but I'd do anything in my power to hold them off and give my Mia time to get away from danger. My eyes roamed the room, but saw no threat.

"Her-Hermione? Lass, what's wrong?" Tom asked shakily. My eyes widened with realization, and I turned to look into Hermione's now unseeing eyes.

_"Dementors…dementors…dementors! Of course, third year… her time turner… Sirius Black making another impossibly miraculous escape… the over-powered patronus! It all ties together. I didn't mean to. Shit. I really need to learn some tact. I just keep hurting her without meaning to."_

_**-O-**_

_**Hermione's POV**_

_"I'd rather be kissed by a dementor than purposefully hurt my Mia, sir," Draco said solemnly._

The memory of the dementors our third year came flashing back with a vengeance. The room I was in faded into hopelessness, despair and utter helplessness. We were going to die. We were all going to die, but I'd have to watch them go first, and wait as the cold got closer and closer to my hiding place. Sirius's ragged body, unconscious against Harry's weakened one. Their souls hovering just above their mouths, the cold freezing Harry and I in place, unable to do anything but watch as they died and wait for them to come for us.

"Mia, you're safe. I won't let anything happen to you, please, I'm sorry. _Please_, snap out of it," Draco cried desperately, his warm hands cradling my face.

I felt some warmth course into me at the contact. I closed my eyes reveling in its warmth and the comfort I drew from it. Gradually, the room we had been in came into focus, the images of the cold dementors being driven away by his touch. I really needed to get my hands on a book that could explain this. The effect he had on me was disconcerting.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lose it like that… It's just… never mind… it's not important," I trailed off shifting uneasily.

"Lass, don't pull that dragon dung on me. What was all that about?"

"I believe our Hermione here was reliving her encounters with dementors, time-travel, and a fugitive of Azkaban from her third year," Draco said casually, almost as if it were an everyday common occurrence. I could practically see him examining his fingernails as he said this.

Then again in my life it certainly could qualify as a common occurrence. My life was not even near conventional by any standards. Hold on! I gasped, frozen with shock. He knew? He knew! No one was supposed to know. How the hell had he found out? Oh dear Merlin! What was I supposed to do now? What if Sirius wasn't out of reach yet? What if Draco's father knew and that's why he knew? Oh Merlin, I had to find a way to contact Sirius immediately!

"What are you talking about?" I asked confused, blinking slowly, adopting a perfectly innocent face. "Time-travel, honestly? The only non-obscure way to travel through time is with time-turners and those are strictly regulated by the ministry. Seriously Dragon, was there something in that ice cream of yours?" I continued, sounding incredulous.

"Don't start Mia. I know, so there's no point in denying it," Draco snapped. "How else were you supposed to take all those classes, complete all the assignments, and still be the top student in all of them? Not to mention that it certainly did explain why I saw you and Potter running to the Hospital Wing just as Dumbledore was making his way out and all of this while you both were still inside," he questioned smugly.

"What? We didn't see anyone out there besides Dumbl-"

"So it's true then?" interjected Tom.

Damn him! Stupid cunning arse! I just had to go and fall such a rookie trick! I was so stupid!

"Dragon dung! Me and my big mouth!" I groaned.

I closed my eyes, pulled out my wand and focused on happy moments. I hadn't been able to do it ever before because I just simply had never had memories that were powerful enough, well at least not any happy ones. However, now it was different. Now, I had Tom, and to some extent Draco, and besides, I needed to do this. I had to at least try; Sirius's soul depended on it.

"_Come on Hermione, you can make a corporeal patronus, you can do this!" _

"Expecto Patronum," I said the incantation while focusing my message: _Padfoot, find a safe place. Secret is out… Probably won't tell, but don't want to take risks. Be safe._

I poured my magic and will into conjuring an actual _lasting _corporeal patronus. I exhaled in relief as I saw something silver leave my wand and fly out the window before disappearing.

"Yes, it's true," I sighed. "Draco, please tell me no one else knows."

"Of course they don't! You would have been in so much trouble had you been discovered! That idiot Dumbledore! Sending two _third _years to rescue a _prisoner _with _hundreds _of dementors around! You could have been seen or worse _kissed_! The bloody fool could have done it himself. He has a time turner, but was he willing to do the dirty work himself? Of course not! He could have gotten you killed Mia, well you or Potter! You would have died one way or the other!" Draco ranted, his eyes flashing dangerously, portraying exactly how strongly he felt about the whole situation and how long he had kept it all pent up.

I bit my lip, fidgeting under his burning gaze. I had not thought about that. I had been blinded by the need to save Sirius, Harry's innocent godfather who had been condemned to twelve years in a hell a thousand times worse than the one I had endured. I had trusted Dumbledore blindly, and did as he had said without a second thought. I could have given him the time-turner and had him save Sirius and Buckbeak. After all, he knew the truth about both of them.

"I-I'm sorry, Dragon. I trusted his judgment. He knew he was innocent, but he said there was nothing we could do, but that three turns should do it… I didn't think about anything else but how we would save both Buckbeak and that innocent man," I mumbled weakly.

"He's Supreme Mugwump, Chief Warlock in the Wizengamot, and Albus Bloody Dumbledore! He could have just said Black was innocent and he would have been free within a minute, no questions asked! Couldn't do anything my arse!" exclaimed Draco, absolutely livid now.

"Draco, we didn't know." I snapped, getting him to calm down a bit. "I mean we knew, but we didn't _know_. We both grew up with muggles. How were we _supposed _to know what he had the power to do?" I reasoned more calmly, my now tranquil eyes locking into his flashing ones.

"Wasn't the weasel with you? He's been in this world since the unfortunate day he was born," Draco said a bit softer, obviously regaining a bit more control on his emotions.

"I- well- He- But- _Why_?" I spluttered, attempting to formulate a coherent sentence.

Why hadn't Ronald said anything? He was obviously in his right mind at the time. He knew exactly what power came with Dumbledore's positions and fame. He knew that Sirius was innocent, so why hadn't he said anything? Why hadn't Dumbledore freed Sirius himself? How had he known that Sirius was innocent without us having to tell him? Had he known all along and let him waste away in Azkaban? This required some investigation as well, but there was no doubt in my mind that this had one certain Albus Dumbledore behind it all. How could I have been so stupid?

"The Weasley boy was with you, wasn't he, and he didn't say a word, did he?" Tom said accusingly, his eyes narrowed. "My son in law was innocent all these years, and I just let him rot away," Tom said weakly, slumping back onto my bed.

"Tom, it's not your fault… We know that you've been played too, maybe _HE _made you believe he was guilty at the time, and the fact that you lost two daughters that same night wasn't a source of lucidity and rationality," I said softly, holding his shaking frame.

"But he was my son too. I should have been there for him," he lamented.

"Lord McKinnon, there's nothing we can do at the moment, but we can bide our time and find a way to give him a fair trial, since according to father, he never received one," Draco replied before I could.

"You're right… I just hope he's alri-"

A small pop resonated in the room as the most unkempt, sallow house elf I had ever seen materialized in the room. It-He stood there muttering to itself about filthy blood traitors that were now sullying his mistress' house.

"Erm… Hello, my name is Hermione. Can I help you with something?" I asked shyly, not sure how to approach the reluctant and seemingly bitter elf.

"Kreacher, does not speak with filthy mudbloods, the Noble House of Black has sunk enough, treating with blood traitors," hissed the house elf, whose name seemed to be Kreacher.

"She didn't ask you to be here, now did she? What are you doing here, Kreacher?" Draco spat, his fists clenched with barely reigned anger.

"Master asked me to deliver this letter to the mudblood," he sneered, throwing a letter at my feet before apparating away.

"Why that litt-"

"Draco, don't. It's alright, really. No harm done," I said softly, before levitating the letter.

I cast all of the detection spells I had researched last year. I cast spell after spell, each one coming clean, before finally deeming the letter safe to touch. I took the letter and opened it nervously, mentally sorting through the people I knew owned house elves and would write to me. I sagged with relief, as I read through the letter.

"You can do silent magic?" Draco finally asked. I rolled my eyes and nodded, not able to keep a smile from my lips.

"Hermione, who is it from?" Tom asked wearily.

"I'll read it to you," was my reply.

_"My beautiful, brunette saving angel:_

_I am safe, so don't worry about this old dog. That was a lovely patronus by the way, you truly are the brightest witch of the age. I shouldn't tell you this, but I'm at my family home. It would be a lot worse if I didn't have occasional company, but it's not pleasant nonetheless. I'll see you soon. Take care. Be safe._

_Padfoot."_

"Sirius," breathed Tom.

"He's alright," I said softly, handing him the letter. "We'll have to burn it as soon as you're done Tom, but as long as word doesn't get out, he'll be safe."

_**-O-**_

_**Draco's POV**_

"I'll read it to you," she replied instead. "My beautiful, brunette saving angel…" she began.

_"Charmer isn't he? Beautiful saving angel, that's something I would say! If he weren't old enough to be her father and she didn't like me on some level, I'd be worried."_

"I am safe, so don't worry about this old dog," she continued, her voice full of mirth. "That was a lovely patronus by the way, you truly are the brightest witch of the age."

_"How does he know that's what she's dubbed? Wait, that was a patronus?!"_

"I shouldn't tell you this, but I'm at my family home. It would be a lot worse if I didn't have occasional company, but it's not pleasant nonetheless. I'll see you soon. Take care. Be safe. Padfoot."

_"I'll see you soon? Is he planning on having her visit him, or the other way around?"_

"Sirius," breathed Lord McKinnon.

"He's alright," she said softly, handing him the letter. "We'll have to burn it as soon as you're done Tom, but as long as word doesn't get out, he'll be safe."

"It won't. He'll be safe. The homes of ancient and noble families are the most protected. No one gets in unless they have inside knowledge or are let in," I added. "But Mia since when can you conjure a patronus?"

"Erm… that was the first time actually. I've never been able to sustain it," she admitted blushing heavily.

"How?"

"I had been doing some research since that night, but I had never been able to conjure it corporeally and have it last more than two seconds before," she mumbled embarrassed.

"Why now?"

"I guess it's because someone's soul depended on it," she shrugged.

"I doubt it was a matter of focus or will," I muttered unconvinced, but knowing that she wouldn't say anything else on the subject.

The glare she directed at me confirmed that she would indeed not be giving me any explanations. There was something big that she just refused to talk about. I was sure that it was directly related to why she was here, instead of at home. I was also sure that Tom didn't know about it either.

"Fine, let's change topics shall we?" I grumbled. "I would like to know what you meant by saying Lord McKinnon here has been played too?"

"Lad, it's Tom, just Tom. Now, why don't you sit, and we can discuss this calmly. I'll send for some food. It's noon anyways. We'll talk over lunch and then we'll decide how we'll approach this whole matter," Lord McKinn-_Tom,_ said calmly.

Once he had the witch he had hired a few years back send the lunch up, they began explaining exactly what Hermione, my brilliant Hermione, had discovered in his family record tomes. It was still too much to take in. Lor-_Tom_ had for all intents adopted Lily Potter nee Evans, so Tom was also for all intents and purposes, Harry Potter's grandfather since he had taken Lily Potter nee Evans in during her fifth year, which was funny since he was practically her grandfather too, so they could be classes as siblings based off of skewed rationality and heavy-handed technicalities. AND he had had a daughter named Marlene, who had eventually married Sirius Black and had a child on my birth date, April 5th, whose initials were D.A.B. "Dragon?" my Hermione asked me worriedly. "Draco, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said shakily. "It's just a lot to take in."

Her eyes widened comically, only to be filled with suspicion seconds later.

"Draco when is your birthday?" she asked serenely.

"Erm… April 5th," I replied hesitantly.

"And your full name is Draco Abraxus Malfoy, correct?"

"I'm not sure," I replied shakily.

"What do you mean?" she prompted carefully.

"Well… my father calls me Draco Abraxus but my mother calls me Draco Alexander," I breathed.

"Alexander is my middle name," Tom said heavily, his voice laden with guilt and sorrow.

"Tom, Draco, we may be onto something but we can't be absolutely certain… that child could have been a girl, but this is...a _possibility_… Now, this is what we're going to do. I am going to do some research and find an effective yet secretive mean of communication. It will have to be undetectable and not be deterred by distance. It should also be something that can be kept on us at all times… Now, Draco you're going to play spy," she said going into the full brainiac, planning mode that everyone seemed to detest yet admired, coveted and praised nonetheless.

"I want you to just listen to anything your mother or father may say that could make you believe that this new theory has some truth to it. Pay attention to their attentions toward you and any nuances in their tone or behavior toward you. Do not put yourself in any danger and do not risk getting caught. We are relying on stealth here. Now, Tom, you and I will be keeping our ears and eyes wide open here. If we catch wind of anything… conveniently informative, well it'll work out in our favor. We will all meet here weekly and confer, alright?" she said taking hold of the situation with a grace only found in a natural leader.

"And now we know who the brains of the golden trio is," I grinned overflowing with pride for my Mia.

"Prat, who else?" she laughed, smacking my head.

"That's bloody brilliant lass. Now, I think I'll contribute a bit. I think it's best if we give you a new identity for the time being. You will keep this appearance and well we can call yo-"

"Carina…" I interrupted only to trail off at a loss of what my surname could be. The Bagshots had died out with Rhea, Tom's wife, so had the Bones, and I definitely could not be a Black or a Potter.

"Carina Mckinnon, my niece," Tom finished, proudly.

"So, Granger, following the Black naming traditions," I drawled light-heartedly, lifting an eyebrow.

"Prat," she blushed.

"Now that you mention it, it is quite a coincidence don't you think? It's almost as if it were written in the stars!" chortled Tom, making her blush even brighter at the very intentional but completely fitting pun.

"Okay, so now that we have that settled, who can we trust?" I said finally addressing the elephant in the room.

_**-O-**_

_**Hermione's POV**_

_"Okay, so now that we have that settled, who can we trust?" Draco said, addressing the subject we had been avoiding throughout this whole ordeal._

_My mind flashed back to __a few days after I had sent Harry the letter._

…_.._

_"Tom, I'm not a people person," I whined as he all but dragged me out to the front._

_"Hermione, lass, I thought you were a Gryffindor," he chuckled at my obvious discomfort._

_"I'm not afraid; I'm uncomfortable," I retorted childishly. He lifted an eyebrow, his smiling teasing._

_"I'm not even dressed to act as a receptionist of sorts. I dressed to be in _my _back room _hidden _behind _piles _of parchment and books," I grumbled._

_"Lass, the clients will love to see someone young. Besides, you'll act as a…. hostess/cashier… at least that's how-Lily had described it… Come on, lass, the clients will be happier and you might attract some more clientele, particularly some young men who might just take your mind off of things, yeah?"_

_"Fine! But I am going upstairs and changing into something more _presentable_," I huffed trudging upstairs, leaving a laughing Tom behind._

_As I entered my room I saw a snowy white Hedwig, waiting for me on the nightstand beside my table, a miniscule roll of parchment attached to her leg. Harry, I thought with a smile. He had gotten my letter and replied! I conjured a bowl and got Hedwig some water, before reading the note._

_"H,_

_Got JB's letter. Take care._

_Love,_

_H_

_P.S No epiphany but will work on it."_

_Of course he wouldn't figure it out; nothing had happened that would make him understand…yet, anyways. I sighed deeply processing exactly what this signified. Dumbledore was withholding all communications with Harry. Anything addressed to Harry wasn't finding his way to him, muggle mail included._

_"Albus Dumbledore, why? What are you thinking leaving a fourteen year old boy to deal with this on his own and with those bastards?"_

…_.._

"Not Dumbledore," I said immediately. "Probably not the Weasleys either… Sirius should be approachable, and so by extension Remus, but we should keep him out of this unless it's absolutely necessary. He has enough on his plate as it is. We can trust Harry with this information, but we won't do so unless there's no alternative. He definitely doesn't need anything else to worry about. If ever needed we can trust Professor McGonagall as well," I replied almost immediately.

"That sounds reasonable, what do you think Draco?"

"Why the sudden change? Why not Dumbledore?" Draco asked hesitantly.

"I know I can't trust him. I had been questioning the trust I had so blindly put in him since before I left my parent's house," I responded carefully.

"How did you arrive to that conclusion?" Tom pressed

"He has made certain decisions regarding Harry that I, and no other sane, compassionate human being, would ever agree with," I replied moodily.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tom and Draco exchanged a worried glance before nodding and dropping the subject. I sagged with relief. If my hunch was correct, which they usually were, then Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was right in the thick of this whole mess. I mean I had already been doubting my trust in the man with the whole Harry situation, but now with this Sirius thing added onto it, things were getting _very _questionable when it came to Dumbledore. Even if he hadn't been the one to cast the spells and do the elaborate planning behind this whole ordeal, he certainly had to have known about it and possibly even covered for whoever was the bastard mastermind I was going to hex to the confines of the earth.

**A/N Well thanks for reading! I hope you liked it! Please review!**


	9. Damn Detrimental Dementors

**A/N Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! It means the world to me, honestly.**

**Anywho, I haven't had one of these in a while, so I think it's only fair that I do this now. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter characters or the Harry Potter world, that is all JK Rowling's. Also, I am not writing for any profit. (There my duty is done)**

**Now, on with the chapter. This is mostly in Harry's POV (it's been a while, I know). Just a heads up. He refers to Hermione as Hermione and later on as Hermione/Carina or Carina/Hermione (I hope it doesn't bother you too much). It's editted so yay!**

**Anyways, enjoy and tell me what you all think.**

**Harry's POV**

I huffed in frustration for the millionth time. What the hell was it supposed to mean? Complete _siriusness _is safer than dumbing around... Wait, didn't she misspell seriousness? She had to have done that on purpose! I mean it's 'Mione we're talking about here. Okay, so she's saying something that relates to Sirius and... that's all I've got... bloody fantastic. My head hurts from all this thinking. What the hell did she mean? Is it too difficult to just come clean?

"Not difficult, dangerous," I muttered, knowing that, that would have been exactly what she would have said.

Okay, let's start over…again. The postscript looks slightly messier, so it was more like an afterthought, which most likely means that she didn't think it would come into play immediately, right? So… maybe something needs to happen that will give me the information I need to know what this dumbing siriusness is all about. I sighed heavily, letting myself be content with this, for now. I'd figure it out eventually, of that I was sure. I mean you couldn't be so close to Hermione and not have _some _of her brilliance rub off on you.

"Boy! Get your worthless arse down here!" my fat-arsed, walrus of an uncle bellowed.

I jerked up off my bed and sprinted downstairs. Finally, a change in sights! I'd been stuck in this damn room for at least a week with only two meals and two trips to the loo a day. Maybe they wanted me to take charge of making the meals again? That way I could sneak some food into my system. Or maybe they wanted me to make myself scarce? No, now _that _was too wishful thinking on my part.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon?"

"We will be hosting business lunches all of next week. I want your freakishness out of this house starting tomorrow morning after breakfast. You can come back once it starts getting dark. If you behave and control your freak self, _I'll consider_ giving you a second meal. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," I gritted out, before returning to my room. Well, seems like I should be less pessimistic. I might get two decent warm meals a day for a week! Not to mention the blissful fact that I'll have no Dursleys to bother me! Life was certainly giving me a break, well for now.

…. Four Days Later….

"Well, lookie here if it isn't the four-eyed freak!" taunted my whale of a cousin, causing his posse of idiot minions to break out into guffaws.

"Look the obese wonder and his brainless oafs! To what do I owe the displeasure of your slimy presences?" I replied without missing a beat, still sitting calmly on the swing I had now claimed as mine.

"Aren't you full of shit?" Dudley's beta cooed, breaking out cackling. "You sure are brave for someone who is deathly afraid of the dark."

"Oooh the dark. Quick get Potter his nappy and night light!" another one of Dudley's oafs cried out.

"Oh, is it not the dark? Must be your pillow then, though I've got to say you've got an interesting way of dealing with it. I mean drowning it in your tears sure is brilliant!" Dudley chortled, his sneer firmly in place on that ugly face of his. "No, Cedric! Not Cedric," Dudley suddenly cried out, mocking me.

"Who's Cedric your boyfriend?" Dudley's beta laughed. "It's a wonder Dudley's parents even took you in. I mean who'd want to have such a sissy for a son?" he taunted, making the little self-control I had been holding on to snap.

I lunged off the swing and onto him, my fist connecting with his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. With a cold glare in their direction, the other idiots made themselves scarce, leaving me with my dear old cousin. Was it just me or was it getting chilly?

_"We mustn't hurt him."_

_"We must follow orders, or we will have to pay."_

_"But-"_

_"But nothing! We will do as we were told."_

_"We can't hurt him! He's our master!"_

_"We were ordered to attack him, and we will. It is not time for things to be as they should yet."_

_"So we will attack but not harm him."_

_"Precisely little one, now let's go!"_

It was definitely cold, too cold. I shivered, shaking off the cold and the weird, frighteningly breathy voices I had heard. My eyes widened as the sky darkened and the temperature dropped even further. Dementors.

"You son of a bi-"

I didn't hear the end of that sentence as I broke out into the fastest sprint of my life. Dementors! Honestly, one week! Couldn't I just have one sodding week!? No, of course not, I'm Harry Potter. There just has to be impending doom everywhere I go.

"Potter!" my cousin hollered, hot on my trail.

I skidded to a halt inside a tunnel, my body not able to take the exertion any more. They only fed me enough to barely live, not enough to run a sodding marathon. Dudley slammed into my body, slipping on the water on the tunnel's concrete floor. My body tensed as the water around our bodies began to freeze.

"Dudley, run!" I roared, before pulling out my wand, aiming it at the two dementors gliding towards us.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to save your ungrateful ass," I gritted out. "Turn around and run!" I hissed.

"I-no!" he said resolutely.

"They will suck out your soul! Just go!" I roared as they were only five feet away now.

"W-What about you? I c-can't just leave you!" he argued.

"Oh, sod it all! Stay behind me!" I gripped my wand tightly, and focused on all the snippets of happiness I had felt throughout my life. Without sparing another second of hesitation, I bellowed the incantation that would make the soul-sucking creatures flee.

"_Expecto Patronum!_"

_"We are sorry master, but the time has not yet come."_

_"But it is approaching quickly, the winds have changed course and are changing yet."_

They were gone, thank Merlin! What the bloody hell had that been?

"Don't put your wand away, idiot boy! There might be more of them around. Oh, I'm going to kill Mundungus Fletcher! Bloody good job of protecting you he does!" Mrs. Figg ranted, while attempting to make Dudley come to.

His eyes were wide open, his jaw hanging open. He seemed to be completely frozen in shock. Well, it was either shock or the dementors, but I really hoped it was the shock. I didn't want him to be mentally scarred just when it seemed he was (well appeared to be) growing a heart.

"Th-That was brilliant Harry. I-It was a stag, a glowing stag!" Dudley stuttered, shivering from the cold.

"Erm, thanks?" I replied uncomfortably, running a hand through my already catastrophically unruly hair.

"Harry, I… um… thanks…" Dudley said just as uncomfortably as me. "I mean, you could have left me to whatever that was, but you didn't, even after everything we've-I've done," he stuttered.

"Well, I couldn't just leave you when you couldn't even see them," I replied feeling extremely fidgety.

"Well, that and the fact that they were after you," Mrs. Figg snorted.

"Harry, I would like to start with a clean slate, do you think you could… forgive me for being such an arse our whole lives?"

"I-I would love to Dudley," I replied, trembling with joy, cold, or dread I did not know.

"Isn't that just endearing?" Mrs. Figg spat bitterly. "Get a move on, the sooner you're in the house, the sooner I can rip Fletcher a new one," she hissed. "I don't know why Dumbledore would trust him with you, honestly! The idiot wouldn't stick around for more than half a second if there were even the slightest suspicion of danger lurking about!" she fumed, undoubtedly livid.

"You know Dumbledore?" I choked out.

"Of course! You didn't think he'd leave you without someone to keep an eye on you now, did you?"

… Minutes later in Number 4 Privet Drive….

"He saved me! That's the end of it! He is family, and it's about damn time we started treating him like it!" I could hear Dudley roaring downstairs.

What the bludgering hell is going on? Dumbledore obviously had Mrs. Figg "watching over me," although spying would be a much more accurate term. She doesn't have magic, obviously, and he left the, according to her, biggest coward to protect me. Is he trying to get me killed?! Something has to be up.

This isn't normal. I mean he set up bodyguards to follow me around without even consulting me. He led me to believe that my friends abandoned me, only to realize that they, well _she_, had been trying to get in contact with me all along. I get one letter from the ministry saying I'll have my wand snapped. Then, I get another one saying that Dumbledore is trying to settle things and instructing me not to leave, _before_ I even get the chance to tell anyone. I mean I was _in the middle_ of writing Hermione a letter. THEN, my dearest Aunt Petunia gets a howler from God knows who just saying "Remember my last." How dumb can Dumbledore be?!

_"Oh, shit! That's it! Complete siriusness is safer than dumbing around! Sirius is safer than Dumbledore!" _I thought a mixture of excitement and repulsion making itself known in the pit of my stomach.

Before attaching Hermione's letter to Hedwig's leg I tacked on the following: "Message understood and assessment agreed with. Will be heading to the capital ASAP."

"Hedwig, please hurry," I all but begged my snowy white friend.

I flitted across my room, cramming everything I owned into my trunk. I was leaving and I was leaving now, no one was going to stop me. London wasn't far away. I could leave the muggle way and I should be fine. It wouldn't do to have anyone on the Knight Bus knowing that I had gone to the Cauldron. I couldn't just let them snap my wand, I needed Hermione. She would know what to do. Fifteen minutes later, I was set to go. Before I got to the door of my bedroom, however, Hedwig flew into the window.

"Already? Hermione must be close by then…" I mumbled.

_"On my way, be there in a minute. I've grown into my looks, but I'm sure I'm recognizable. We'll be going to the L.C. We'll communicate with dear old Snuffles there. Don't worry. Be safe. –Carina McKinnon."_

I pulled my trunk out of my room and rammed into Dudley. I eyed him curiously as he apologized for nearly toppling me over. He had a trunk as well. What was going on? Where was he going?

"Dudley?"

"Harry, I can't stay here. I don't want to be like them. I'm leaving. I have a bank account that has the inheritance I got from Grandparents Dursleys and Grandma Evans. I might not see you for quite a while, so I guess this is goodbye," he explained firmly, holding out his hand. I didn't hesitate to shake it this time.

"You're already a better person than them. Keep yourself safe. I'd recommend changing schools and maybe taking our mums' maiden name. I'll try to contact you when I can."

"Let's go downstairs then," he said solemnly.

"What do you think you're doing?" Aunt Petunia screeched at both Dudley and I.

_"We_ are leaving," Dudley said firmly, shooting them a glare so icy it could have frozen over all of hell.

"Oh no you do-" Uncle Vernon began, before he cut himself off when I pointed my wand at his scrunched up face.

"I wouldn't mess with him. I saw what he can do with that, and let me tell you, you don't want to be on the receiving end," Dudley said calmly as he stepped out the door. I followed him out the door, trying to exude the confidence he exuded.

"Well, that went well," he exhaled, chuckling slightly.

"Better than I thought," I agreed, smiling slightly.

"Psst… corner." I heard the unmistakable voice of Hermione whisper from my left.

"I'll go with you and then we'll break off, alright?" Dudley said/asked. I nodded, as I made my way to the end of the street.

I stopped dead in my tracks as I saw a man who reminded me a lot of the bartender at the Leaky Cauldron standing next to who had to be Hermione even if she didn't resemble the Hermione I knew at all. Her hair was red, a red between blood red and wine red. Her eyes seemed to glow in the sunset. Was that gold and silver?

"Oh, hello, I'm Carina. I'm new to Little Whinging and I seem to have lost my way. Do you think you could help me out?" Hermione, well officially Carina, said without missing a beat.

"Why, wait, what?" I choked out, completely confused.

"Of course, we'll help you. I'm Dudley Evans and this is my cousin. I think a good place to start would be the old school. It is a need to know place after all. We'll help you find your way from there," my cousin said smoothly, thinking quickly so as to not arouse any suspicion.

"My what a gentleman," Hermione/Carina said flirtatiously, as she took Dudley's arm. After a full thirty seconds of silence, she began rummaging through her satchel.

"Do you two like chocolate? I love chocolate! Please have some. It's just delicious!" she rattled off giving us both some chocolate, as Dudley led us through the most convoluted path to the school.

As I saw how casually Dudley was taking this all, I realized he really wasn't that bad, once he stood up to his parents and started thinking for himself. Hell, he could have made it into either Slytherin or Gryffindor, if he could have gone to Hogwarts. He was brave enough to stand up to his parents, but he was cunning enough to go with Hermione/Carina's brilliant plan to get us away without prying eyes. He didn't even flinch when the man with Carina/ Hermione shrunk our trunks and took them! He was calm under pressure and had a clear head. He did what had to be done.

"Here it is milady, though I'm sorry to say that it's been quite abandoned ever since it was closed down," Dudley said chivalrously, "there's this really nice tree that makes for a nice chatting spot. Come on, it's quite the sight on cloudless summer nights."

I stood there in shock. He was being so, so nice! He had to have done some growing up when he was at his boarding school, just like I had certainly done so at Hogwarts. He had certainly grown up since we were eleven. Carina/Hermione smile and followed him.

"This is perfect Dudley, thank you," she said. "Now, let's sit and chat, shall we?"

"Um, well I kind of already told you everything-"

"I am well aware _James_. I was simply going to lay it out for us, alright?" Hermione/Carina snapped, rolling her eyes. "Dudley, I must say I'm glad you've grown up quite a bit since I last saw you with your little friends."

"What?" Dudley asked flabbergasted.

"Bushy-haired brainiac, bucktoothed beaver from first grade," she replied smiling ruefully, holding out her hand as if they had just met.

"No! Wow, I did not see that coming. I'm guessing that after... well...we were the reason you moved away?"

"My parents decided it was for the best after yes… Anyways, I'm happy for you. It's nice to see that James here has gained a cousin. Now, back to the matter at hand, do you feel better now?" Hermione/ Carina asked reverting back to her no-nonsense self.

"I feel a lot better, thanks." I nodded in agreement.

"Good. Now, all four of us will be going to the Cap. Evans, do you have means to sustain yourself?"

"Yeah, I have more than enough to survive for a few years. Will James be alright?"

"I'll make sure of it. Now, Evans I want you to know that if you were to be in any danger we will know how to reach you, but even if we don't keep in touch… do your best to not contact anyone from your family or anyone that could contact your family for you. It's for your own safety… our world is going through dark times, and it is affecting your world as well," Hermione/Carina said solemnly.

"I promise."

"Alright, let's get going. Evans... Robert, yes, Robert Evans," she said firmly, holding Dudley's gaze.

"Okay, thanks, and I'm sorry by the way, for everything," Dudley said softly.

"Don't worry about it. Now take his hand and make sure you close your eyes. Take the first taxi you can. Here's a map of London. It has hotels highlighted and flat buildings in safe areas circled. Be safe, Robert. You're his family, so you're practically my family too, alright?"

With those parting words and his map, the man apparated Dudley Dursley, now Robert Evans, away. I sighed, still not believing everything that had transpired today. Everything had been turned on its head and I didn't know which way was up anymore. The one person I had believed in blindly had turned out to be less than worthy of my complete trust, and now I didn't know who I could turn to (not counting Hermione, of course) or what I was supposed to do.

"He'll be alright James. I know how much it means to you. You now have the cousin you had wished for, for so many years. He's a big boy. The good thing about his previous bully behavior is that he won't let anyone step all over him and he'll fight for what he wants," Hermione/ Carina said wisely.

"Thanks," I sighed, "for everything."

"Like I told him, we're family. I've got your back and by extent his. Now, we'll talk more once we get there, alright. I'm afraid that although this was a great place, I still am not so sure about how safe this place is."

"Alright, but H-Carina I thought I just have to say that look… fits you better. I don't know how to explain it, but it's scary how well it fits."

"I know, trust me. It's downright terrifying," she laughed softly.

I looked at her curiously, trying to examine her in the dim lighting. She seemed different. Something about her seemed sadder and more tense, yet, at the same time, something about her screamed independence and an aura that evidently showed that she was a force to be reckoned with. I had only seen glimpses of the "Force of Nature Hermione" that was before me now. She had always seemed subdued, controlled, unsure of herself to an extent, but, now, she seemed much more comfortable in her own skin. She looked… like she knew where she belonged… like she knew everybody else's dirty little secrets and wouldn't hesitate to use them to get what she wanted.

"Is there something on my face?" she asked quietly, her voice full of amusement.

"You're so different, and I don't know if it's… an okay thing or a great thing… it's not bad, definitely not bad…" I mused.

"Ready to go, Carina, James?" the man's quiet voice said after a barely audible pop.

"Can I try to do it myself?" Hermione/Carina asked excitedly.

"No," the man snorted.

"But, Tom," Hermione/Carina whined pouting.

"Don't you start, this isn't something that you learn from a book. It requires practice, lots of it, so don't start with me _Mia_," he, Tom, said shortly.

"You wouldn't," she gasped, horrified. "He'd just about kill me!"

"Oh so the force of nature _is_ afraid of her little dragon, eh?" Tom, who was definitely the owner of the Cauldron, chuckled taking my hand.

"Afraid isn't the word; it's more of a reluctance of being on the receiving end of a ranting lecture," she replied shivering.

"Um…can we go now? I think I might burst if someone doesn't tell me what the hell is going on," I muttered, trying to control the impulse to start demanding answers.

"Alright, Tom take James first, make sure he's safe first and then come for me," Hermione/Carina instructed with a certain regal authority I had never seen before.

"Fine, but don't you dare pull any funny business, lass. Remember that your dragon is visiting tomorrow, and I _will _tell him about anything you try to pull."

"I won't. I won't, just go."

-O-

**Hermione's POV**

"I won't. I won't, just go," I huffed, watching as Tom took Harry's arm.

I sighed in relief as I heard them apparate away. I had at least ten minutes to myself to figure out what the hell I was going to do with this whole situation. Sirius and Draco were going to be visiting tomorrow, Friday, and that would be a perfect time to put everyone up to date. I tried to submerse myself into my memory of a few days prior. It simply would not do to have my temper escape me right now.

…. a few days prior ….

"Blood traitor has Kreacher sending letters to the filthy Mudblood… such a disgrace… my poor mistress," Kreacher, the morbid house elf, muttered once again appeared in my room.

I took a deep calming breath before turning to said elf. Much like last time, he simply glared at me and threw Sirius's letter to my feet. I glared at him as he apparated, before picking up the letter.

_"Angel,_

_Would you care to explain what the hell you're doing in the Cauldron? You know what, never mind! Something's fishy, so you can be very sure I'll be visiting you _very _soon. There should be an opening on Friday, so you better be ready to answer quite a few questions._

_Padfoot."_

Well, shit. Damn Kreacher, bloody house elf, just had to rat me out, didn't he? You'd think he'd hate both Sirius and I equally, but no. He had to provide extraneous details, didn't he? Of course, it was perfect. Ruin my cover and anger his master. Bloody perfect.

…..Present…..

Well, no point in being upset about it. I needed to smoothen out my plan. Okay, officially Dumbledore was undoubtedly on the blackest of my black lists, but we had to keep him thinking we still trusted him blindly. So, now that we had Harry, and Sirius was coming over we could play the whole godson and godfather bit. Harry was going to go back to wherever he was staying, which Dumbledore probably knew about.

Now, as for how Sirius knew where Harry was going that would be something we'd leave to Hedwig… speaking of which, maybe I should send him the letter I prepared before coming now, with Hedwig. I'll send him a patronus when I get back to the Cauldron. That should abate the whole Sirius tantrum that would undoubtedly ensue. It should also cover appearances with Dumbledore. Well, that was set.

Now, depending on Sirius's Occlumency, we'll decide on whether to tell him about the whole dilemma that Dumbledore was starting to be our main suspect of or not. Harry, we can't risk knowing since he has always been pretty transparent. I'd have to work on his Occlumency, and _then _we would be able to tell him everything. Okay, so now a back-up plan for Sirius, if his mind isn't up to it... A letter charmed so that only he can see it, paired with a password to unlock it… yes, that should work. Now, I would just have to work on charming it and giving it to him before leaving for school.

I also have to figure out a way to get Harry a trial, but of course we could always play the whole "Boy-Who-Lived card." Or, we could also have Tom make it back into the political scene by taking up his role as head of the Noble House of McKinnon. That would definitely serve well in getting Sirius his trial. I, as Carina McKinnon, could certainly aid in getting him some support for when he brings the subject up.

I'd just have to see who the proctor for the House of Potter and the House of Black are, and then I could talk to the Houses of Longbottom, Bones, and Abbot. After all they had always been in allegiance with the light, independent (to some level) of Albus Dumbledore, and had a pact of sorts with the House of Potter and House of McKinnon.

I smiled content with what I had planned out so far. If Dumbledore was playing master schemer, then it was only fair that I level the playing field. I smirked, remembering my sorting. Now I knew why the hat had said I could certainly fit into Slytherin as well as Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Gosh, sometimes I scared myself. Brave as a lion, sneaky as a snake, and sharp as an eagle, that was a simply terrifying combination, a force of nature in itself.

"What are you smirking about, Carina?" Tom asked after he apparated to my side.

"Oh, nothing… it's just that, sometimes, I scare myself," I said nonchalantly.

"I think I _might_ feel sad for the idiot who dared to mess with you," Tom chuckled, taking my hand and apparating us both directly into my room.

"Alright, now talk," Harry demanded.

"No, we'll talk tomorrow over lunch once everyone gets here, for now, we're sharing my room," I said as I conjured another bed.

"Mione," he said sternly.

"No. Now, shove it, Potter. We are doing this how I say, and it's final."

"Fine. But I am not happy about this," he grumbled.

"Didn't expect you to be."

"Mione, just tell me… are you alright? I mean are you…" Harry trailed off, not sure how to express the concern I knew he had been feeling ever since he had received my first letter.

"Don't worry, Harry, alright? I'm not in any immediate danger at this precise moment, especially not with this particular precaution we're taking," I said gesturing my visage. "We'll talk about this tomorrow."

**A/N And that's the end of the chapter. I know it seems things went a bit fast in this chapter, but I really wanted to get things going. I hope the whole Dudley thing doesn't bother you all. It kind of just happened. I had planned to make him a total ass, but it started coming out with him being slightly nicer and I kind of just went with it.**

**Anyways, next chapter we'll have a full house in the room of Hermione. Things might get a bit hectic. I think we might actually see all three POV's and maybe either Tom's or Sirius's... maybe both.**

**ANYWHO, please review! ^_^**


	10. Draco, Harry, and Sirius OH-MY

**A/N So this was originally three chapters, and now it's one... so as you can tell, it's extremely long. This is kind of like a strategic planning and revelations chapter, so I wouldn't recommend skipping it over, since it reveals quite a bit/affirms hypotheses.**

**Anyways enjoy and please review!**

**Oh, before I forget! Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. The plot of this story, however, does belong to me. **

...The next morning…..

**Harry's POV**

"Tom was there ever a McKinnon with red hair?" Hermione's voice awakened me.

"Er… not that I know of… why?"

"Thought so," she replied.

"Hermione, no," I could hear Tom protest.

"Tom, you know this is the wisest thing to do. I know it may make you a bit melancholic at first, but if I'm going to be Carina McKinnon, I need to look like it," she said sternly. "Now, hold still. I need to have eyes identical to yours," she muttered. I could practically see her lips pursed, like every other time her mind was set.

"Tom, don't even bother arguing," I groaned, sitting up. "She's gone through every possible argument in her head and has a way to counter every single one. She probably only just brought it up because she was only ready to make the change now," I finished as I stretched.

"Exactly, I had to do my research. I looked into the family tree and tried to learn as much I could about the family history, _and_ I had to make sure that I had an acceptable appearance in mind before I started transfiguring myself," she replied matter-of-factly. "Okay, how do I look?" she asked turning towards me.

"Like you're related to Tom, maybe a niece or something," I shrugged, not knowing what to say. I really liked her red-headed self. It just seemed familiar and-and… just _right_, but of course Hermione being Hermione, wouldn't be deterred by anything anyone said.

"Honestly, you two stop it," she snapped. "You're sulking; you have all of today to say goodbye to Mia," she said as she re-transfigured her hair red and her eyes hazel. With a glare that ended all argument, she left the room.

"Well shit… an upset Hermione is not pleasant at all," I groaned.

"Aye, that lass is brilliant…" Tom began.

"But scary," we finished together with a shiver before bursting into laughter.

-O-

**Draco's POV**

"Are you sure you'll be alright on your own, Draco?" my mother asked worriedly.

"For the last time, stop coddling the boy!" my father, well my supposed father, said.

"Aren't you worried that something might happen to him?" my mother sniffed.

"No."

"Bu-"

"No one would be foolish enough to mess with anyone with Malfoy platinum hair and/or the Malfoy coat of arms pinned to their robes," he drawled.

He didn't say with a Malfoy, or my son, I noted.

"Back before dinner," he said stiffly, pinning me with a cold levelling look.

"Yes, father. Goodbye mother," was my reply before stepping into the fireplace and flooing to Flourish and Blotts just as I had five days ago.

I was a bit early, just as I had planned. I needed to start taking initiative on solving on this whole mess. As soon as I was amidst the book-filled shelves, I began to scour for books related to appearance modification spells and potions. I was certain that Lucius Abraxus Malfoy was not my father.

Now, I just had to figure out how the hell they made me look like a true Malfoy.

There was still a chance I wasn't a McKinnon/Black, according to Hermione, but I had the feeling she wasn't being completely truthful. At least what I knew for certain right now was that I most definitely was not a Malfoy. Observing my father and mother, as I had been doing this past week, I had seen how obvious it was that I was not a Malfoy. I was still unsure as to whether I was a Black born to Narcissa or not.

I took two copies of three books that seemed promising and proceeded to pay for them. If I was going to be doing research on this, it only made sense to have Hermione looking into it as well. She would see anything I happened to overlook, not to mention she'd probably go through the book much faster than I would. I slid into the shadows and promptly transfigured my features. I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders before making my way through the Alley, towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"Come on, Mia, please. I promise it'll be _loads _of fun," I heard a brown-headed idiot tell my Mia.

I could practically see him batting his eyelashes at her. With a roll of my eyes, I made my way toward them. Honestly, couldn't he at least be more subtle? He was embarrassing himself.

"Scott, you know I'm leaving today… I can't hang with you guys. I have t-to pack," she replied softly, her voice sad, even though I couldn't _feel _any sadness radiating off of her.

"When do you think you'll be coming back?" he asked her.

"I don't think I will be… My family, they're afraid... He's back… and we made our positions in the war very clear. They won't let me come back until the danger's gone… W-we might not see each other for a really long time…" she replied breathily, tears gathering in her eyes.

The brown-haired twerp cradled her face tenderly, sadness and loss radiating off of him. That idiot had _fallen in love_ with her! I couldn't believe it. I had thought I was the only one who was so affected by her, but apparently not.

"I'll miss you, Scott," she murmured, pecking his cheek before turning and fleeing up the stairs.

Merlin, that girl can act! Even I was saddened by the display, and I knew that she wasn't going anywhere. If it weren't for my bizarre, developing ability, I would have been close to shedding tears with the emotive display. It was truly a mystery how she hadn't been sorted into Slytherin. She made it seem sincere and heartfelt, yet it was also obvious enough that everyone in the pub had heard and believed it. Now, the question is why did she do it? I'd have to ask her later. I waited a few minutes before following upstairs.

"Come in," I heard her say just as I was about to bring my knuckles to the door.

"That's really creepy, you know?" I chuckled, opening the door and walking into her room. It appeared to have been arranged for a gathering of sorts. The bed, plus one, seemed to have been lined up against the back wall.

"I know. Why do you think I did it?" she replied smirking. Definitely Slytherin material, I thought.

"Is that a smirk, my dear Mia?" I gasped.

"Whatever are you talking about, Draco? Me, smirk, never!" she replied beaming.

"Of course, what was I thinking? It is, after all, my area of expertise. I'm terribly sorry, I should have remembered you don't possess a shadow of the skill required to pull it off," I retorted smirking.

"Oh, is that so?" she asked innocently, her eyes twinkling evilly as she pulled out her wand.

"Uh… erm…" I trailed off, backing away from her. Twinkling eyes, coy smile, and wand in hand meant nothing good for me.

"NO! S-stop! Pl-please, Mer-merlin!" I choked out, trying to control my laughter. A tickling hex! That girl was evil!

"Take it back and I _might_ take pity on yo-"

"_Finite incantatem_."

_"Is it just me, or does that sound like Potter?"_

"Honestly, 'Mione, I turn my back on you for five minutes, and you're already torturing some poor blo…"

_"Yep, definitely Potter…"_

"What the bloody hell are _you_ doing here, ferret!" he roared.

I tensed as I felt his fury wash over me. Great, he probably undid my transfigurations. Damn, I knew I should have made them more durable, but it's too late now. This couldn't be good. Should I reach for my wand and be ready for any hex he might throw my way, and come off as more of a threat, or should I just stay put and risk him hexing me into oblivion? Decisions, decisions.

"Harry, don't you dare," Hermione hissed, putting herself between me and the end of Potter's wand. I shivered, thinking of the glare she must be shooting his way.

"Glad we're in agreement. Now, you two will sit and keep quiet until the rest get here," she ordered.

We both opened our mouths to argue, but before either of us could utter a word, she shot us a glare so intense that would have had Voldemort and Dumbledore cowering. Of course, we were too stubborn to let her see how much she frightened us, so we scowled at her before doing as we were told.

_"What is he doing here? What the hell is going on _now_? I have a feeling things just got _way _more complicated…"_

-O-

**Sirius's POV**

I had debated where to put the damn letter for hours before finally settling on just sticking it under my mattress. It would be hidden well enough, but it would be accessible enough to anyone who could be snooping around looking for something to get their dirty little claws on. Now, the only thing is why? Why does she want me to do this? Something's up, and she wants to be a step ahead of it all, but the question is… is it right to help her? "Kreacher!" I roared, deciding it was time to get this over with. A hearing before the verdict, it was only fair after all. I'd have to listen to her before making any judgments.

"Yes, master?" Kreacher, my deceased mother's wretched house elf, growled.

"I _order_ you to take me _directly into _the room you have been delivering the letters for Ms. Hermione Granger to," I ordered firmly.

There was no way I was going to give the demented little bugger a chance to lose me my soul. He gave me a hate-filled glare that made it obvious that our thoughts, for once, were going along the same path. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes as he grudgingly took my hand in his. As if I liked having any contact with him than he did, I scoffed mentally.

"Good, we're all here," Hermione said brightly as I landed rather unceremoniously on the floor.

"Damn elf," I muttered as I stood. Oh, if only I could kill that blasted Kreacher. **(Oh, isn't that just so punny! :P)**

"Sirius!" I heard Hermione exclaim horrified.

Honestly, that women was ridiculous! Kreacher probably treated her as if she were lower than shit and she still wanted to defend the damn thing. Of course, I should have expected it. I mean she was driving herself crazy with that whole spew thing last year.

"What? The damn thing would probably kill me in my sleep if I gave it a chance," I scoffed, as I took in my surroundings.

We were in a decently-sized room. It was obviously one of the Cauldron's prolonged-stay rooms, but there were two beds and they were pushed against the wall. I had landed in a semi-circle that had a single empty chair opposite it. Who was supposed to be at the head of this? Who was that blond next to Harry? Why was Harry here? Where was Hermione?

"Maybe if you were nicer to him, he'd be a lot more willing to help you," Hermione's voice snapped, but there was one problem. Her voice was coming out of a Lily clone, well kind of…

"Now can I ask what they are doing here?" I heard the blond ask calmly.

"Me?! What the bloody buggering ferret's doing here?!" Harry roared, his green eyes burning with fury.

Blimey, that boy got Lily's bloody temper paired with James's colorful vocabulary! Poor us, we're probably in for relentless ranting topped off with some hexing towards the end. That was our boy!

"You two will shut up! And no! You don't get to open your mouth either Sirius!" Hermione, or who seemed to be Hermione trapped in the body of the incarnation of Lily, snapped. Her eyes making it clear there would be hell to pay if we didn't do what she said. This girl was scarier than the devil's spawn. She made old Voldy shorts look like a sodding five-year old girl hugging her wittle teddy bear.

"Ummm… just one quick thing… are you okay Hermione? How- Why do you look like the incarnation of Lily Potter nee Evans?" I asked nervously, withering under her glare.

I shouldn't have opened my mouth. Why couldn't I have followed orders and kept my mouth shut? I sighed in relief as I saw her features soften from fury to irritation. Okay, at least she was less likely to kill me now.

"Bugger, forgot about that," she muttered, pointing her wand at herself and returning her normal features. "Anyways, please take a seat Sirius, and, Tom, thank you for behaving maturely," she said lightly with a sweet smile, her features schooled.

She looked so composed, sweet and innocent, it was as if she hadn't personified the devil himself a mere seconds ago. I turned to look at Tom, who _would have been_ my father-in-law had we not lost Marlene. I had only met him twice before now, but I remembered we had really hit it off well. I wondered if he hated me for having betrayed Lily, who was like a second daughter to him.

"Anyways, I will tell you all how Harry got here, seeing as that seems to be the most pressing matter. Harry feel free to fill in wherever you see it fit," she instructed regally, as she took the seat in front of the semicircle. Well, that answered the question as to who was in charge. It's a good thing too; she certainly seemed to have the bollocks to take charge and the brains to know what she's doing.

I listened to everything she had to say about Harry and the dementors that paid him a visit just yesterday. She told all of us of how she had received Harry's letter, proceeded to read parts of it out loud to us. Before she could move on, however, Tom interrupted and told us of how she was about to apparate to Little Whinging when he had gotten to her and told her that he would be doing the apparating.

Hermione groaned snuck a glance at the blond one, who seemed as if he were getting ready to blow. She pouted at him, her eyes pleading. I was surprised to see he calmed down, but he still didn't seem happy about that little tid bit at all. Then, she proceeded to tell us of how when they had gotten there, Harry's cousin, who she already knew somehow, seemed to have matured, grown a heart, and made peace with Harry. The only bits Harry added were the voices he heard before and after the dementors attacked and exactly what happened between his cousin and his cronies and him.

"Okay, so we've finished regaling the lightest tale of the meeting. Does anyone have any questions, comments, or concerns, before I break it down for all of you?" Hermione said after a couple of seconds of silence.

"Lightest?! Harry was _attacked _and you say it's nothing?" I asked, feeling my temper rise.

"It wouldn't be the first time, so you can get off your high horse," Hermione said in a no nonsense tone. "Now, what some of you might be on the verge of realizing or haven't realized is that the Weasleys knew of the attack _through Dumbledore_ mere minutes after it happened, so what does that tell you?" she asked, effectively shooting down my tantrum.

"It _tells_ us that Dumbledore was aware of the events of last night, which means that he either overheard of it happening the moment it happened, he caught wind of it in the ministry and wasn't able to get Harry to safety in time, or … yes…" she trailed off, a murderous glint appearing in her eyes only to disappear as quickly as it appeared. "Anyways, I would like to do a bit of a test on you two, Sirius and Harry. It will be a test of your mental defenses… it will be intrusive, but in order to decide how much I can tell you of what's going on… I need to make sure it's safe to tell you. Harry, I think you will have the weakest defenses, so I won't be able to tell you much, but I will be working on it with you. Trust me, alright? Once you're ready, I'll tell you everything we know and have speculated. Do you two agree?"

"Alright," Harry sighed.

"And how exactly are you going to perform legilimency on me? Unless blondie over ther-"

"First of all, his name is Draco. Second of all, I just asked if you agreed or not, so just answer the question," she replied stiffly.

"Fine, do it."

-O-

**Hermione's POV**

I looked into Sirius's eyes and was honestly surprised. Pureblood upbringing really did give you an upper hand. Twelve years in Azkaban hadn't weakened his mind too much. He kept me out more efficiently than Draco's, but what I dubbed my "flowing water breach" approach still got through. My heart clenched as I perceived the misery and guilt that afflicted him, the hatred for his family that sullied his soul. I thought of all my good times with Harry and tried to implant them into his mind, hoping to give him an anchor of positive emotions. He needed to relearn what it felt like to be happy again, so many years in such a hopeless place. Being so miserable for so long had destroyed him emotionally.

"Thank you," Sirius breathed, before slumping into unconsciousness.

"He'll be alright," I told Harry who seemed more than a little worried. "His defenses are strong, but let's just say that his time in that hell hole left him hurt. I tried to help him a bit, but I think I overstayed my welcome, and left him a bit drained. We'll let him rest while I do the test on you, yeah?"

"A-alright…" Harry replied, eyeing Sirius nervously.

"Harry… I'll do my water approach on you… According to Draco, you don't really feel the attack. It's more gentle than the normal approach," I said, trying to get him to relax.

"O-okay, 'Mione, just… don't… never mind," he sighed resigned.

I felt tears prickle in my eyes. I knew what he wanted to say. I felt the same way. That was why I hadn't told anyone anything, why I wouldn't be telling anyone anything, if I could avoid it. I, like him, didn't want to be pitied and judged him for what we had gone through.

"I won't, now relax."

I looked into his emerald eyes, and didn't find any deterrence whatsoever. I was overwhelmed by the images, the thoughts, the scars. It was so much like me. He was beat by his cousin and his friends, while I was beat by just about everyone in my school. His self-esteem was forever slaughtered by his aunt and uncle, while my self-esteem was slaughtered by my so-called parents.

I had remained strong because I knew I had nothing else, and I would break free. He was made vulnerable by the hope of having someone out there and having no assurance that he would ever be freed of their grasp. We both lived in similar hell holes. The effect was the same. We were both scarred, the difference was in our masks. He had none. I had many.

I looked further, sensing a wall somewhere in the darkest corner of his mind. Why would an unused part of his mind be safeguarded? I approached it, and, as promised, I used my anomalous water approach and breached the surprisingly tight walls.

I stiffened as I was affronted with so much hate, so much darkness. It was so dark it made me sick. There was so much evil, so much hatred, so much power-lust. I saw Snape and Lucius bowing to him, Pettigrew caring for him, him and Bellatrix going at it like bunnies. I saw him killing a man who looked like Harry with a mere flick of his wand. This… dear lord… this was Voldemort.

Oh Merlin! Voldemort, a piece of Voldemort was in him! There was a connection between Harry's mind and HIS. Th-that bastard! That loathsome, evil, motherless, piece of utter shit! He defiled poor, innocent little Harry the very night he murdered his parents. I was going to murder Voldemort with my bare hands. I was going to enjoy every second of it. He was going down and Dumbledore was going down with him. He had known. Dumbledore had known and had put him with the Dursleys to keep him weak. They had hurt him and they were all going to pay. I hoped the Death Eaters took care of the Dursleys, Dudley not included, of course, if not they would be suffering a much more painful death.

I slithered out of Harry/Voldemort's mind, making sure my presence went unnoticed. The second I was out, I could feel the tears running down my cheeks, the sobs racking my body, a warm body holding me tightly, lips pressing softly, gently to my head. I held onto my consciousness long enough to see Harry losing consciousness, and see Draco's mercury silver eyes looking into mine before falling into unconsciousness myself.

-O-

**Draco's POV**

Sadness, an overwhelming sadness, was what I was feeling from Hermione as she plunged into Potter's mind. What could she be seeing that makes her so sad? It's almost as if she can commiserate. Confusion and curiosity, that's what followed, what had she seen now? Her brows furrowed slightly. Did she find some resistance?

Then it was hatred, pure, black hatred. It was nauseating, sickening. Hatred, darkness, unrestrained anger, misery, it was too much. I shut my emotion receptor off, only then did I see Tom watching Hermione's trembling frame aghast. She was dripping in sweat, tears coursing down her cheeks, her eyes glued to Potter's. Her sobs seemed on the verge of splitting her body in two. I took her body in my arms, holding her tightly as if trying to keep her in one piece.

"It should have been me… I should have done it instead… You shouldn't be going through this, not you," I murmured repeatedly into her hair, kissing her, hoping to give her some kind of comfort.

Then, it was over. After half an hour of excruciating pain, it was over. Potter slumped into unconsciousness immediately, but Hermione's eyes met mine for a second before her body fell unconscious in my arms.

"What the hell was that?" Sirius Black murmured. How long had he been conscious? How much did he see?

"Draco, will she be alright?" Tom whispered, as if he were afraid that speaking too loudly would break her.

"I… she should be fine… it's just. She found something. It was so much hate, so much anger, so much darkness. It-it was _pure evil_," I replied, looking down at her pale face.

"How? I mean it's Harry, he's not evil," Sirius said shakily.

"No, Potter isn't evil, but… it's strange…" I mused. "I need to see what she found," I finally said after a few moments of tense silence.

"But she needs to be awake for you to even try to use legilimency on her," Sirius protested.

"I know. Tom, could you go out to get some strength replenishing potion? Sirius help me get her and Potter onto a bed."

If I got some strength replenishing potion in her she should be awake long enough for me to get into her mind. I was sure she'd hate me for doing this, but I needed to know if something had happened to her while she was in Potter's mind. I needed to know if it was just exhaustion she was suffering from. I needed to know if I could help her somehow.

Tom nodded and left the room without another word. Sirius eyed me intently, before doing as I asked. He picked up Potter's body and I took hers. I placed her on her bed, the one Sirius had been put in earlier. Even like this, exhaustion evident, she was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.

"Have you told her yet?" Sirius asked breaking me out of my Hermione-induced haze.

"Told her what?"

"That you're completely and hopelessly infatuated with her?" Sirius smiled wryly.

"She knows I really like her… I think she likes me too, but given the situation, she doesn't want to be more than friends," I sighed.

"What situation?" he asked perplexed.

"That's what this whole meeting was about. I have no doubt that she'll tell us once yeah…" I trailed off awkwardly.

"I got it," Tom announced the second he got through the door.

"Alright, how are you going to do this?" Sirius asked.

"Tom, you'll make her drink the potion. Then, immediately afterwards, Sirius you wake her up. The second her eyes open, I'm going in. That should let me in without too much trouble," I instructed.

"Occlumency?"

"She's as good with it as legilimency," I muttered, nodding to Tom, motioning for him to give her the potion.

The second the flask of potion had been empty, Sirius hit her with a _renervate_. The instant her eyes fluttered open, I made the connection, without a single ounce of resistance. It wasn't normal, but I didn't have time to ponder on it, since almost immediately, I found what I was looking for, her trip to Harry's mind.

What I saw angered me beyond belief. The bastards that called themselves family abused him and treated him like a sodding house elf! It was sickening and truly horrific, but it wasn't what I was looking for. This didn't have any hatred, any darkness. This only held resignation and sadness, and so I went deeper. I could see how she had sensed that there was something, something away from the used area of his mind. She neared it and found incredible resistance there, when she had found none before.

I was surprised by the amount of magic and effort it had taken her to get through. Finally, she breached it with quite a bit of effort using that unusual method of hers. That's where it was. That's where the darkness, the evilness was. I pushed through and saw what she saw, and deciphered what she thought -know-who, it was you-know-who. He was inside Potter. The slimy, sick bastard had left a piece of him inside of Potter the same night he had murdered his parents and condemned him to a childhood of pain.

I made my way back, retracing my steps, not wanting to tamper with anything in her mind. She'd be angry enough as it is, but as I made my way back, just as I was about to exit the memories of Potter's heinous relatives, I felt misery that wasn't his, anger that wasn't his, and fierce protectiveness that most definitely wasn't his. I felt myself wandering through the path that linked her memory of going through Harry's mind to another part of her mind.

I followed and when I reached it, I felt my own anger flaring. She hadn't told me. She hadn't told me! I knew there was something that she was hiding, but I hadn't known. I hadn't had the merest idea. I had thought that they just felt uncomfortable because she was a witch.

I didn't know her parents were dependent, useless bastards that deserved to die a cruel, slow, painful death. I didn't know that she was treated like filth. I didn't know she was tortured in her muggle school more so than she was tortured by us Slytherins at Hogwarts. I didn't know they had tried to beat her the very day she decided to come here.

There was more, a lot more. I knew there was more. I could feel it, but they were disconnected, and I couldn't do this anymore. I couldn't invade her privacy any more that I already had. I had already seen what she had worked so hard to hide. I had already seen what she hid behind her books. She would already hate me. I had no need to make her hate me more than she already would.

Now I understood why she had picked up on Occlumency so quickly. It was no wonder she had gone through the first steps on her own, trying to make sure that no one found out how her life was at home. She already had walls. She already had her mind disciplined. She already had her emotions under control. She had to have, especially when she had escaped one hellhole to go straight to another completely alone and defenseless.

I pulled completely out of her mind and was surprised to see myself looking into her tear-filled eyes devoid of any traces of anger. There was embarrassment and… that was it. That was sodding it! I invaded her mind and saw everything those rats had done to her, and she isn't even angry! She's embarrassed. I'm livid because of what those bastards did to her, and she's bloody embarrassed that she couldn't hide it from me, that I had seen!

"I-I'm sorry," she murmured.

"Sorry! You're bloody sorry? Mia, you aren't buggering sorry because there's nothing to be sorry about!" I exploded.

"_I'm_ sorry! I should have _known_. I should have _seen_. I _knew _you weren't telling me something, but I never _thought… _How could they?" I gasped, trying to calm myself before I went into hysterics.

"You're so kind, so good. How could they do that to something so good?" I whispered, feeling tears welling in my eyes. "I hope _they_ and-and _his_ damn relatives die because if they don't do it on their own, I'll be sorely tempted to do something about it myself!"

"Draco, Dragon, you couldn't have known. I _never _told anyone, not even McGonagall. No one ever knew. No one ever saw. I hide behind my books," she replied, her tone calm, her eyes firm, devoid of any traces of tears, but shadowed with a saddened resignation that made my heart break. "No one notices anything but the insufferable, beaver-faced, buck-toothed bookworm, know-it-all," she finished smiling ruefully.

"This isn't bloody funny! I should have been there for you. I should have protected you. I shou-"

-O-

**Hermione's POV**

"This isn't bloody funny! I should have been there for you. I should have protected you. I shou-"

"Damn it Draco! You couldn't have done anything!" I snapped. "It's just like I couldn't have protected you from being on the receiving end of Lucius bloody bastard Malfoy's wand, every time you were being _disciplined_. If you failed to protect me, then so did I," I hissed, successfully shutting him up.

He had to understand that there was nothing he could have done. He was barely more than a toddler when it all started, there wasn't anything he could have done. I never asked for help. I never spoke up. It was my fault it all happened and continued happening.

I sighed, knowing that I'd have to tell everyone, well at least Tom and Sirius, the full truth now that Draco knew. He wouldn't keep it to himself. He'd tell Tom to ensure that I would never return to my parents' house ever again. He'd have him watch over me 24/7 just to make sure that no one bothered me.

"What are you two talking about? What's going on?" Tom demanded.

I turned to look at him. His eyes were worried, full of fear. Sirius's own mercurial orbs were hard but underlain with fearful anxiety. I bit my lip, barely processing how worrying it must have been for both of them. Both Harry and I had fallen unconscious, and while he was alright, merely exhausted, I had had an emotional breakdown as well.

"I'm sorry I worried you all. I'll tell you the story of how and why I got here. While Harry's still out we'll talk about what we talked about last week. If we still have time, I'll give you an overview of what the plan was. Once Harry wakes up, I'll tell you all what I found, and, then, I'll proceed to tell you all what the game plan is regarding these new developments," I sighed, trying to sit up in my bed. Damn that hurt! I took in a deep breath and pulled my back off of the mattress, so I could sit completely up and look less pathetic.

Once they had all nodded in agreement, I told them part of the story behind the know-it-all they all knew. I only them of what had been expected of me as their personal slave, and how I tried to lessen my punishments and endear myself to my parents by exploiting my love for learning and my quick mind. I also told them of the side jobs I took on to accumulate as much money as possible in order to leave as soon as I turned of age in the magical world, which would have been September of next year anyways. I gave them an quick overview of how school was, but I didn't tell them any specifics about anything. I didn't tell them about the I didn't tell them about my abnormal magical outbursts. I didn't tell them of the first time I had memory of being beaten by my parents. I definitely didn't give them any details on my kids. It would have made leaving them for good too real. I still had yet to write to them, and I felt terrible about it. It had been three weeks already, after all.

"So, let me get this straight. Your parents let you get _tortured _in school?" Sirius asked seething.

"No, yes, not at first… I mean when we moved to Little Whinging, when I started school, the bullying started as soon as I got there. I told them I was having problems, but they didn't really respond to it... then it got worse and when I told them that Dud…" I trailed off, having just realized something I had overlooked before. "Godric! It's all my fault! I should have kept my mouth shut. Harry wouldn't have been bullied, if I had just kept my mouth shut!" I exclaimed, realizing that Dudley Dursley had picked on me to let his cousin be.

"What are you tal-"

"They knew! Oh those _bastards_! They didn't care that _I_ was being bullied. They cared that it was _Dudley Dursley_ doing the bullying. They cared because if Dudley was there, then it meant that Harry was there as well!" I cut Draco off, my brain finally seeing what it hadn't for all these years.

"Hermione, please do enlighten us. Our brains aren't nearly as bright as yours and we do have quite a few missing facts, so we wouldn't be able to put two and two together," Draco said softly, interrupting my rant.

I shook my head, and said it wasn't important, that I needed to tell them something else because my epiphany changed things. I finished telling Sirius the story of how I got to the Cauldron. This time, I told him of how I had realized that I had been obliviated, without telling them of what the memory I realized had been obliviated consisted of. I told them of what my parents had told me before I left.

Then, I proceeded to tell them of how my parents did not freak out whenever I performed any accidental magic, and how they didn't seem too surprised when McGonagall gave me my letter. However, they were surprised when she offered and insisted to pay for everything, since they didn't want me to go to Hogwarts. I had originally thought that they didn't want me going because they would lose their cook and maid, but now I was beginning to think that they just didn't want me near Harry, but I didn't tell them that, of course. I had no proof.

Once I told them all that, I told them of how they hadn't bothered doing anything about the bullying until I told them that it was Dudley Dursley who was doing the bullying, and then I told them how irrational it was to move cities just to flee from a bully. Once I had explained all that, I told them of my suspicions. I told them I suspected that they had already known of magic and of Harry. I told them that my parents, more likely than not, wanted me to be as far away as possible from Harry, which could only mean that Harry was mixed up in this mess as well.

"Merlin's hairy, saggy balls," Sirius breathed.

"It definitely fits," Tom mused.

"We still don't know why this all happened in the first place, and we don't know how we're all connected. I don't think we can argue that it's all connected now, it would be too farfetched to believe that it isn't," Draco said frustrated.

"What does blondie over there have anything to do with this?" Sirius asked.

"_Draco_ is just as much of a victim in this whole plot as I am and as Harry most likely is. Tom, would you like to take up this one?"

Tom nodded before retelling the story of how Draco and I met on the express and how he treated me during school. Sirius's eyes got darker and darker as Tom told the story. It wasn't until he told him of the time at the World Cup that Draco warned me and of how he was under an either extremely strong compulsion charm or various compulsion charms that he calmed down.

I tensed slightly as Tom continued and began to tell him of what I had found in the McKinnon family tomes. I saw as tears streamed down Sirius's eyes as he heard of at least a year of marriage and a child that he didn't remember. My heart clenched as he cried for his lost memory, for the wife he could remember loving but not marrying, and for the child he didn't think could ever be born. I felt tears of my own falling down my cheeks as Tom apologized to his son in law for not having believed in his innocence, for not standing up for his son in law.

"Sirius… there's one more thing Tom didn't tell you… Draco… he was born that very same day and his initials if he is a Black would be D.A.B. too… we aren't completely sure… but," I looked to Draco.

"But… I know for certain that I am not a Malfoy. My father always tells me what a Malfoy stands for and how a Malfoy should behave, but he never says that I _am _one. He never refers to me as his son. He uses the words boy and Draco when addressing me, but he never says that I am a Malfoy. He says to behave like one, but… he has made it clear enough that I am not a Malfoy," Draco finished solemnly.

"Oh founders…" Sirius breathed.

"We don't know for sure yet, and we won't be completely certain until we can get Sirius's named cleared around Christmas time," I reminded them.

"Oh because that little head of yours came up with a brilliant idea to set me free," Sirius snapped irritably.

"Oi!" Draco exclaimed indignant on my behalf.

"Yes, actually, but we won't be discussing it until Harry is up," I replied snootily. "Now, we will tell him of my parental drama and that that was the reason I am now here. We are telling him that Draco had a change of heart and that we all trust him, but we will not be mentioning anything about this whole twisted plot we've begun to uneart-"

"Why?! He has a right to kn-"

"He has absolutely no defenses, if we want to get to the bottom of this, we need to make sure that it remains secret. I will tell him everything the second he's ready," I argued, cutting Sirius off.

"Now, the plan regarding him was that he was going to go with you and I would stay here, and I'd begin training him in occlumency the second we got to Hogwarts, but things changed and we need to wake him up so I can tell about this recent development and what the plan is," I finished, pointing my wand at Harry's immobile form.

-O-

**Harry's POV**

How had I never noticed before? I should have known she was stuck living in a hell hole too. I mean she's my best friend, practically my sister. I should have sensed it or something. I should have seen through the mask. How did he, Draco ferret Malfoy, see what I couldn't, what nobody else could? I'm glad he was there for her, as wasTom. If Hermione can trust him after what she's been through, then I can too. We aren't that different after all. She's stronger, but we both find it hard to trust… but if she trusts him, then I do too...

"I'm sorry, 'Mione," I sighed. "I should have noticed that something was off, at least, but I know how shameful it feels, and how much you want to pretend that everything is normal. I understand, and if you trust Malfoy, then so do I," I finished resolutely.

"Harry, remember I told you that the whole mind test would let me know how much I could tell you without putting you and myself at risk?" Hermione asked. I nodded.

"Well, as expected, you didn't have many defenses. I was actually a bit surprised by the _nonexistence _of your defenses… but as I went deeper into your mind… I sensed there was something hiding behind a thick, heavy, tall wall, and… Harry, it was heavily guarded…"

"But I thought you said I had no defenses," I replied confused.

"You don't. That's why I was… _bewildered_. I struggled a bit, but when I got through… I wasn't in your mind anymore… It was dark, full of evil and hatred… It _wasn't _you, but it was left _in you_… that night… the bastard did so much more than leave you parentless…" she finished.

"Voldemort… he-he's in me?" I whispered terrified.

-O-

**Hermione's POV**

"Voldemort… He-he's in me?" Harry asked horrified.

"Yes, Harry. Something happened that night... I don't know what, but I will be looking into everything that could possibly bound you two together," I said resolutely.

I would discover what in bloody hell that bastard did to my Harry. Maybe I could find something in the books I was planning to buy about bonds between people. That would just be marvelous!

"But 'Mione, knowing him it's going to be some really dark magic..." he refuted, fidgeting nervously.

"So? I do believe that Sirius' library will have more than enough books on the subject," I responded ruefully.

"What?" Sirius exclaimed nearly falling out of his chair.

"Tell me, honestly, did anyone ever mention taking me there, to headquarters, I mean?" I asked simply.

"How the hell did you know!?" Sirius roared. I smirked smugly, thinking how easy it was to have my suspicions confirmed.

"Dumbledore isn't _nearly _as clever as he thinks. His Order was written about in one of the Daily Prophet prints sometime during the first war," I replied smugly.

Oh how I loved it when I was right, especially when it surprised people like this. The confusion in his eyes paired with the 'what the sod?' expression on his face led me to explain myself.

"I read up on everything that happened in between the two years leading up to the first war and the two months after he disappeared," I shrugged.

"Holy flying hippogriff shit!"

"Not to mention that I came upon it recently here as well, so I think that the connection wasn't too hard to make."

"'Mione, how are you so brilliant?" Harry spluttered unbelievingly.

"She's Mia. She rivals the wits of Rowena Ravenclaw herself, it's no secret, Potter," Draco answered, beaming proudly. I blushed a deep red under his warm gaze and breathtaking smile.

"Any who, did they?"

"Er... Yes actually... Dumbledore wanted to have you taken there before the first two weeks of the hols were out. _Padfoot_ has overheard him and Molly _desperately _looking for you. They have no leads, however._Padfoot_ heard them discussing whether to tell the others that you've been abducted just to have you brought directly to him on sight. They really want you Hermione..."

"Well that settles that," I muttered to myself, confirming my suspicions that Dumbledore was the man behind this whole obliviation ordeal.

"Precisely, so this is what the new game plan is...well on this particular thing," I continued, doing my best to ignore the overwhelming hateful feelings I was feeling towards Dumbledore. "Tom you'll be moving Harry and I to your cheapest room. I'll have to modify your memory and have the real memory be triggered by a keyword.

"Don't worry, I read about it fourth year, and it actually worked. Neville was nice enough to let me test it out on him, so you don't have to worry about me messing up your mind," I explained. "Anyways, Tom are you alright with that?" I asked carefully.

This was not something to be taken lightly. He was making himself vulnerable and trusting me to not hurt him, whether accidentally or not. I didn't know if he trusted me enough to let me do that.

"Will it keep you safe?" he asked, much to my surprise.

"Yes, as long as we do the same to Harry, then yes," I replied.

"Okay then it'll be worth it," he acquiesced.

"I'll do it too, 'Mione," Harry piped.

"Now, Sirius, I won't modify your memories but you'll have to keep your shields up around Dumbledore. You will have to tell him that Harry contacted you and that you had Kreacher take you directly to where Harry was. Oh! Bring him here as soon as I'm done.

"You need to tell him to never tell anyone that you had had any form of contact with me before Harry's letter. Anyways, Dumbledore will probably already know about the letter but you telling him will be a proof of trust and loyalty of sorts, which we need him to completely eat up.

You will tell him that Kreacher took you to one of the shabbiest rooms in the cauldron and found Harry but he wasn't alone. You found me there as well, sharing the room," I instructed.

Sirius sat there, mouth agape, staring at me. I lifted an eyebrow in return. After nearly a minute of his expression not changing, my own gaze turned hard. The effect was nearly immediate as he began fidgeting nervously.

"Are you quite done staring at me?"

"It's just you-you are so... Slytherin!" he exclaimed. Again, my gaze turned hard, causing him to gulp.

"Don't get me wrong. It's not bad," he amended quickly, trying to appease me. "It's amazing, actually. I mean the brains of a Ravenclaw, the heart of a Gryffindor, and the cunning of a Slytherin, am I missing something?"

"Well, I'd say she has the loyalty of a Hufflepuff," Harry replied smiling goofily. Curious, very curious…

"If being compared to a Hufflepuff were a compliment, of course," drawled Draco, nearly making me giggle.

"Being a Hufflepuff isn't bad!" defended Harry. Interesting, very interesting. I was going to play master schemer, mass avenger, and matchmaker, this year was going to be _extremely_ interesting!

"Maybe if most of them weren't so gullible it wouldn't, but they lack a backbone and it ruins the reputation of the entire house," Draco allowed.

Before Harry could come up with a retort I cut in, "we're done discussing Hufflepuff. I think they're loyalty is admirable, so I thank you for that Harry. Now, that's the plan in regards to Sirius.

"If it all works out as it should, he'll try to look into your mind Sirius. He won't make it too obvious, but you need to have your shields ready, as if you were expecting a full-blown legilimency attack. Now, once he doesn't get in and is satisfied with what you told him, he'll either come for us himself or send those to trust him the most blindly, so Professor Lupin and Mr. Weasley will be a part of the group _if_ a group comes.

"If Dumbledore comes he will want to have a word with Tom and look into his mind. Once he has an idea of how the hell I got here, he"ll go get us and play the caring grandfather act. Then as he tries to coax a story out of me, he'll be trying to invade my mind, which he won't be able to. He'll then proceed to look into Harry's mind. Once he gets through his mind, he'll take us to headquarters."

"Are you a seer now?" Sirius scoffed, not wanting to admit that that was exactly what would end up happening. Men, I grumbled mentally.

"He may be eccentric but he's always reacted in a way that causes people to have faith and trust in him. After years of observation and a recently unbiased mind, he became predictable enough," I replied simply.

"There's no way you can read Dumbledore's actions that well," Sirius contradicted.

"Care for a wager?" Draco asked smugly.

"With who?" Sirius asked.

"With Mia, of course. You see, I have no doubt that she predicted his possible reactions to perfection," Draco smirked.

"Oh, that's a great idea dragon," I beamed.

"Fine, a wager then," Sirius replied. "If I win you will... She doesn't like quidditch right?" he asked, turning to Harry. Harry shook his head.

"Okay, perfect. If I win, you'll play quidditch inside the library with me and whoever else I want while using kreacher as the quaffle... Or maybe a bludger... No quaffle will do," he smirked evilly. I had no doubt that my horror was evident on my face. That arse!

"If I win you will treat Kreacher nicely, as if he were family, like Harry, or any of the true, loyal marauders AND you will refer to me as oh so great one for the rest of the hols," I threw back at him just as smugly. Now, it was my turn to smirk at his horrified expression.

"My money's on Mia," Draco whispered. Tom nodded.

"I don't know. I'm betting on Sirius," Harry replied whispering.

"Ten galleons?" Tom asked, and they both nodded.

"You up for it Black?" I asked, still smug about the reaction my wager had gotten from him.

"Hell yeah," Sirius barked as we shook on it.

"Alright, now that that's settled, listen up for part two of my oh so brilliant plan... Well if you agree with it of course," I amended hastily, realizing I was being much too presumptuous. I couldn't be myself. I had to be who they want me to be, so they keep me.

"Don't tell me this is your brilliant plan to have my name cleared by Christmas," Sirius scoffed sarcasm dripping from his words.

-O-

**Sirius POV**

"Yes it is," She smiled wickedly. "I'm glad you haven't lost your reason in your old age."

The cheek of her! She had James' sense of humor! Well she would if she were Lily's and James' kid. Then again, she's too bad ass to be their kid. She's too bad ass to be anyone's kid. She's just too bad ass to be a kid period.

"Whatever, just get on with it," I grumbled. I really hoped she had a way of clearing my name. Dumbledore would only say it wasn't the right time; that we had to wait for things to cool down.

"Tom, the house of McKinnon is an ancient and noble house, correct?" she asked, and at Tom's nod, she continued. "All heads of ancient and noble houses have a seat in the Wizengamot, so who is currently your proctor?"

"Um... Well I just left without assigning one after... So I suppose my vote went to the chief warlock which would be Dumbledore," Tom replied shifting uncomfortably.

"Precisely. Now, proctor or no proctor, you are free to claim your seat and vote in the Wizengamot. In doing so, you will be able to bring anything you find concerning or want looked at," she said carefully.

"Hermione, Mia, what are you saying?" Tom asked shakily.

-O-

**Hermione's POV**

"I, as Carina McKinnon, have given you a motivation to uphold your responsibilities as head of an ancient and noble house. I have given you the push to stop wallowing in your sadness and loneliness, and you in turn have allowed me to be of aid to you. You have allowed me to take a seat in the spouse chair as your only family and be an advisor of sorts..." I trailed off, my voice getting smaller and smaller.

I was being too bossy. People don't like bossy. They don't keep bossy. Backtrack and fix this, I ordered myself. Don't let it be too late, I implored.

"Would this be something you could do? With me I mean..." I asked my eyes suddenly finding my shoes quite interesting. "We both know you have blood family out there and I would never want to replace that, but it would only be until we find the heir of the ancient and noble houses of Black and McKinnon," I started rambling, wishing I hadn't opened my mouth.

I berated myself suggesting it. For not wanting to be rejected by the one man who had taken me in and treated me like family, I sure had a way of doing just that. Imposing myself, being a bother, pushing for something he would probably never want. Yes, he cared for me, but how could I ever hope to compare to Lily or Marlene or Sirius or his grandchild?

"Mia, Hermione, lass, never ever say that again," Tom reprimanded softly. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I kept them at bay. I'd cry later, when no one else could see.

"I understand," I replied, smiling softly. "Are you at least willing to take up your seat because if not, then plan B would be getting either the House of Potter or House of Black proctors to bring it up? Seeing how I don't have that information, I don't know how much longer it could take, but it doesn't matter I'll get right on that. We might have to wait a few more weeks than that, but it should be before Easter, I swear. I'll do my best to make sure it happens. Anyways, even if the proctors agree to i-"

"Lass, stop," Tom commanded.

My heart constricted. My eyes struggled to keep tears from leaking. I was so stupid. I should have known. I-I had to fix this so that I would still be wanted. I didn't want to lose him, even if he didn't want me as family. He cared, and that was all I wanted.

"It's stupid, I'm sorry. I'll come up with something good. I promise. I'm sorry," I stammered, tripping over myself to appease them.

"Lass, no" Tom said softly. "That's no-"

"I-I'm sorry. I understand," I breathed, trying to control my breathing and heart. "If I could impose on your hospitality one more day, I'd appreciate it. I just need to find another place to stay and I'll be out of your hair. I'll find a way to take care of all this, regardless. I won't be a bother any longer. I'm s-so s-sorry," I said shakily.

"What?" Tom choked out. "Lass you're not going anywhere," he said firmly.

"B-but I screwed it all up. I had a lapse of reason and forgot I-I'm not good enough to…" _Have a real family_, I thought. "I'm sorry. I'll be out of your hair by tomorrow. I swear," I finished, my voice sounding suspiciously strangled.

Damn it! No, I couldn't cry. It's only going to be worse. They'd see how weak and vulnerable I am. I couldn't do that. I'd get hurt. Stupid tears, don't you dare betray me.

"Oh, 'Mione," I heard Harry breathe.

"Angel," was the strangled cry of Sirius.

"Mia, love," Draco cooed miserably.

"Lass, you're wrong. It's so strange I never thought I'd say this but you couldn't possibly more wrong. I love you as if you were my own. You can't choose your blood family, but you choose who your family is, and you are the closest family I have.

"I don't know what happened to my daughter even though she, according to you, is most likely still alive. I don't know who my grandchild is, even though it could be and most likely is Draco. I have a son, but even he, I chose, and we aren't as close as you and I are, lass.

"At first I saw the heart of Lily and the spirit of Marlene in you, and that paired with the fact that I knew you were a good lass, from your visit with the Weasley clan, was what led me to make the best decision in my life. Since I started getting to know you, lass, I started loving Hermione more and more. You are family don't ever doubt that or the fact that I love you so, so much," Tom's voice was soft and warm and full of _love_?

I unglued my eyes from my shoes and raised them to meet his gaze. Tears were streaming down his face. His eyes warm. The little doubt that I might have still had dissipated with that look he gave me. It was so tender, so unlike anything I had ever seen. It felt... fatherly and so, _so_ right. I couldn't hold back the tears now. They flowed down my cheeks and I couldn't bring myself to care. He loved me like I loved him. This wasn't one-sided. I had a real family and he loved me, even though he knew...

"Angel, don't ever think you're not worth loving," Sirius said softly, making me look at him.

Tears were trailing down the contours of his still drawn, ashen face. He really needed to take better care of himself. We'd have to work on his appearance for the time the trial came around.

"If you aren't worth it, then no one in the world is. You're the brightest, kindest, most noble and loving person I know, and I know a lot of people. You are loved, Angel, so, so loved. You just sometimes don't see it because you always, _always_ give without ever expecting anything in return," Sirius finished, his voice so warm it surprised me.

"'Mione, I never thought anyone could feel that way, you least of all. It was so easy to love and trust you that I never thought you could ever feel like you weren't or feel as if you weren't worthy of it," Harry said firmly, his voice strong, but the tears leaking out the corners of his eyes, showing how much what I said had hurt him.

"Hermione," Draco's velvety voice said as his tongue caressed the syllables of my name. My eyes locked with his, melting away the rest of the world. It was just the two of us, drowning in each other's eyes.

"This..." I felt unbelievable warmth wash over me. Waves of protection, devotion, trust, and... Love... Inundated my body, filling my very soul with its bliss. "Is what I feel for you, Mia, and it grows every single day and even so it doesn't feel like it's enough. It's not nearly enough. You deserve so much more a-"

"And it's just perfect," I cut him off, before he could bring himself down. It was true. It was perfect, perfect for me.

"Mia?" he questioned, perplexed.

"Always," I responded, smiling bashfully. His beaming smile was the only answer I needed. This was right. This felt real, and I wasn't going to doubt it.

-O-

Sirius POV

"Hermione."

His silver eyes, much like mine, looked at her with an amount of love I thought impossible. It was pure. It was absolute and unrestrained devotion.

"This..." His eyes transformed from molten Mercury to icy blue much like Tom's and Marlene's. His now blue eyes seemed to pierce through her hazel...Hazel! Hazel, well kind of not really, eyes. "Is what I feel for you, Mia, and it grows every single day and even so it doesn't feel like it's enough. It's not nearly enough. You deserve so much more a-"

"And it's just perfect," she cut him off with a watery smile.

"Mia?" he asked confused, and I didn't blame him. What the hell was happening?

"Always," she answered blushing brightly, smiling timidly.

He grinned so widely it brought about an epiphany: Mia, Spanish, mine. Always… well that was self-explanatory.

"'bout time those two got it together," I heard Tom murmur.

"Does anyone else not understand what's happening?" Harry muttered under his breath.

I barked a laugh. Poor boy, out of the loop, I would feel bad, but his face was just too funny. It looked like a mixture of confusion, an 'is that Troll, I'm smelling?' face, and an 'I'm trying to solve the world's hardest riddle,' face.

"Would it be clearer if they just started snogging?" I questioned raising an eyebrow, a lecherous grin on my face.

Harry's horrified face caused both Tom and I to break out laughing. Draco and Hermione soon joined us, seeing as Harry's facial muscles seemed to be frozen in place. Well, until Hermione kissed his cheek softly and told him that they wouldn't be snogging any time soon, much to Draco's dismay, my amusement, and Harry's relief.

"Well, I have absolutely no intentions of kissing you with a crowd," Hermione smiled in response to Draco's pout. "And we have to act school normal at school, so no such luck," she added with a grin before kissing his cheek just nearly on the edge of the corner of his lips. That tease! Poor, poor Draco! That girl was going to be the death of him.

"This is nice cheesy and all, but I think I've had enough mush for the day. Can we go back to Angel's brilliant plan? Oh, and in case there was any doubt I think Tom agreed to all of the above of what you had already suggested," I said, entirely conscious of having ruined the moment, but there was no way in hell that I was going to start tearing up for the second time in less than an hour. Sirius Black didn't cry! His eyes just decide to work overtime and cause some rare flooding.

Hermione's POV

"Erm... right, well," I shifted uncomfortably, my stiff body protesting.

I wasn't used to being immobile for so long, well not in a bed in a seemingly comfortable position. I was too drained, still, to get up and move our little gathering back to the semi-circle, but it was really awkward having them hovering over me, standing.

"I think we may be suffocating Mia, why don't we all sit around the bed, while she finishes telling us her sagacious plan?" Draco interceded, undoubtedly noting my discomfort. I smiled gratefully, earning myself a playful wink that made my heart flutter.

Once they were all seated around me, Harry included, I continued, "Well, as I was saying... Tom would take up his responsibilities as Head of House. I would be an undersecretary of sorts. Now, I am expected to be at Sirius's for the full extent of the holidays as well as at the Wizengam-"

"You can't be in two places at once," Sirius interrupted.

"Done it before," I muttered under my breath, rolling my eyes impatiently.

"You're not!" Harry spluttered, his eyes widening comically. I nodded smiling.

"Hold on, I just thought of something. Why would you have to wait another year for you to leave your parents if you used it all of third year? Shouldn't you, theoretically, be about a year older because of how much you used it?" Draco questioned contemplatively.

"Well I would be but Dumbledore got Snape to brew a potion for m-"

"He what?!" Sirius exclaimed outraged.

"Lass, please tell me you didn't," Tom pleaded.

"I-well…I- something felt off," I stuttered. "I knew I didn't have a reason to question Dumbledore, but it felt wrong to just drink it without taking the time to at least thinking it through and making sure that I knew exactly what side effects the potion could have on me."

"Thank Merlin," I heard Sirius breathe before I was drawn into my memory.

…...flashback...

_"Professor?" I called as I entered his office._

_The array of whirring mechanisms and shining, metallic trinkets held none of my interest. I was too nervous to pay any attention to my surroundings. I couldn't help but wonder why I was summoned. I wracked my mind for a possible motive but came up empty-handed. My time turner was safely around my neck, hidden from view. It was so well-concealed that even Dumbledore seemed to have forgotten about it. Besides, I hadn't even used it this year. I hadn't broken a single rule, not yet at least. I hadn't even interfered with any of my classmates' dimwitted plans to get their name in the goblet. I had stayed even more out of the way than usual this year, even if it only was the second week of October._

_I had spent every second of my free time getting as ahead as I could. I had been reading much more advanced books. Sure some of them were a bit more obscure, but it wasn't anything that could get me into any trouble, so what did he want?_

_"Ah, Ms. Granger, I can imagine you must be wondering why you're here," Dumbledore smiled, his blue eyes twinkling as they always seemed to. "Please, take a seat," he said motioning for me to take a seat opposite him. "Lemon drop?"_

_"No, thank you."_

_"Well, let's get to it then. Ms. Granger I am sure you're aware of the… aging caused by your use of a certain artifact last year," he said in his usual grandfatherly tone._

_"I don't understand, sir. We already discussed this and I agreed," I replied, utterly perplexed._

_What was he getting at? We already knew that would happen. I had agreed to it knowing the 'side-effects' of going through with it. Why were we having this discussion again?_

_"You see, Severus and I have found a solution for this little dilemma of yours. After a bit of research, we came across a potion that can reverse aging," he replied sagely._

_"Sir, I don't think it's necessary. I mean I wouldn't want to be a bother. Besides, it's not even a full year."_

_"It's no problem at all, dear. I already had Severus brew it for you," he answered smiling kindly as he pulled out a flask with a deep indigo, viscous liquid from his desk drawer._

_My heart constricted painfully at the sight of it. It seemed as if its very presence was sickening. It was just wrong. There was no way I was taking _that _potion, not when it made my whole body tense up like this just by looking at it. It was dangerous, according to every single instinct I had. _

_"Oh, well thank you, but if you don't mind me asking, what is it called? I've never heard of a potion that can do that, and as you can imagine, I'm very curious," I said, taking the potion from his hands and putting it carefully in my bag._

_"Of course, dear, it's Aqua Reditus Iuvenis," he chuckled. I nodded, storing the information for later as I stood. "Now, I will ask you to take your potion before bed so you can have some rest after taking it," he suggested, leading me from his office._

_That night I took Harry's cloak and the Map before sneaking into the restricted section. After two hours of searching I found it. It required some ingredients that I would probably only find in Knockturn, so I'd have to look through Snape's stores first._

…

"Angel?" Sirius asked shaking me into reality.

"Sorry," I apologized, blushing slightly.

"'Mione, not that I doubt you… but how are you not older when you didn't take the potion?" Harry asked.

"I brewed it myself," I replied smugly.

"How?" Sirius gaped.

"Brightest witch of the age," Draco smirked.

"But what about the ingredients?" Tom asked.

"How about I just tell you the story, before you flood me with questions?" I suggested. At their nods, I began the story of the potion.

"…but I found too little of the ingredients in his stores to be able to sneak any out. I did, however, find various flasks of polyjuice. I took a vial and hurried to the dorms. Once there, I came up with another plan.

Professor Lupin, as an unnecessary thanks for accepting and keeping his secret, said that I could count on him for anything I needed that he could help me with, and so, I sent him the list of the ingredients and money to cover the costs along with the polyjuice I took, in case he found a use for it," I said stealing a glance towards Sirius.

"Once I had the ingredients it was second year all over again, except I completed the potion over the course of three days. I used the turner to get to my classes each day since I couldn't leave it unattended. It turned out that the potion wasn't supposed to be indigo, but there was no harm done and now I'm the age I'm supposed to be," I concluded.

"Brilliant," they all breathed in unison.

"I thought we had already established my brilliance," I smirked.

"True, but you never fail to amaze us," Draco replied smoothly, sending a flirtatious wink in my direction. My face flushed beet red, causing Draco, the prat, to chuckle while the other males in the room smirked at my red face.

"Cheater," I grumbled, forcing my blush down.

"It's not cheating, it's charm," Draco and Sirius replied in unison.

They stared at each other, quite realistically impersonating fish. I burst out laughing, making my sore body ache as I held onto my side.

"You should've seen your faces," I said once I started calming down.

"Anyways," I said once I could breathe normally, "that would solve the issue of being in two places at the same time. I can floo here from Sirius's and when I'm at Hogwarts I'll sneak into a passageway to Hogsmeade and…." I didn't think that part through. "Apparate?" I finished hopefully.

"Lass, you're crazy if you thi-"

"Hold on, Tom. She may be onto something," Sirius interrupted. "Apparating isn't actually too complex. It's all about focus, and I doubt that's a problem with Hermione. We'd just have to coach her. She'll be fine, and I think it's the safest option. She can't floo, she can't take the Knight Bus, and she can't por…" Sirius trailed off, his face morphing into one of contemplation.

"Portkey," Tom said with finality. "She'll be portkeying back and forth."

"Fine. I'll portkey, but I still want to learn to apparate," I pouted.

"Maybe over Christmas break," Tom replied noncommittally, but the look he gave me told me I had a lot of convincing to do before he even began to consider. "Anyways, seeing as I'm reassuming my duties as Head of House, we're going to have to get McKinnon Manor habitable once more. We'll key your portkey to it so you can come and go as you please."

"McKinnon Manor?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Aye Lad, didn't think this was my home forever did ya?" Tom chuckled.

"I remember the Manor, it was really homey," Sirius smiled.

"Aye, all Lily and Marlene's doing, that's why I decided to move into the Cauldron after… it just felt too lonely," Tom sighed. "But now, I'll have Hermione to keep me company and we should be getting visitors all the time, especially after Christmas," Tom smiled brightly, clearly excited by the idea.

"That sounds perfect," I beamed back. "Now, the next Wizengamot meeting is next week, Wednesday at ten. You'll take your seat, but, objectively, we'll just observe for the first few meetings. It's best if you don't side with anyone. We need to see how the field is being played before we can make our moves. Then, we'll start with small things. Once we get nearer to Christmas time, we'll pull up Sirius's case," I instructed.

"Slytherin," Harry, Tom, and Sirius sighed.

"Yep," Draco beamed, causing me to roll my eyes.

-O-

Sirius's POV

"Dragon, you have to go," Hermione's voice said in a distant tone, her eyes unseeing. "The last meeting at the ministry was cancelled," she continued in the same distant, dreamy tone. "Use the floo downstairs, hurry!" she cried in her normal voice, her eyes snapping back into focus.

"Shite! Bye Mia. I'll see you soon. Tom I'll be using your floo!" Draco called as he ran from the room.

"Angel, what the hell was that?" I demanded as soon as he was out of the room.

"What was what?" she asked innocently.

"You didn't tell us everything," I accused, glaring.

"She'll tell us when she's ready," Harry interjected firmly before I could lash out at her.

_"She's not Peter. She's not Peter. She's not Peter," _I repeated the mantra over and over in my head.

"Alright," I finally sighed, when I calmed down. "Can you at least tell me why you went bonkers and he booked it?" I asked, not understanding why they seemed so desperate to have Draco home as soon as physically possible.

"Draco Malfoy. _Malfoy, _dark and pureblood family, punishments," she replied as if I were dense, even though her tone was positively darkly.

"Oh," I responded stupidly. I definitely remembered _those_. How could I have forgotten?

"What?" Harry asked, obviously confused.

"Let's just say that there's a reason kids from dark pureblood families are so _familiar_ with dark spells," Hermione snapped, causing Harry's perplexed face turn into one of horror.

"Anyways, Tom, could you get us to that new room?" she asked, quickly changing the topic.

"Of course," Tom said standing.

"Right," she muttered, as she shifted on her bed.

Her muscles seemed to tense and I could have sworn I saw her grimace, but by the time she had turned her body towards me, her features were schooled into a calm, relaxed mask (well I thought it was a mask, because I could have sworn I saw a grimace). She sluggishly reached for her wand and pointed it to my face. It would seem she wasn't as fine as she had made us believe.

"We need to fix you," she said right before I felt cool waves of magic hitting my hair and face, transfiguring my features. "There," she smiled. "Now, Tom could you do Harry?" she asked sweetly.

The second Tom turned to transfigure Harry's appearance, I felt her tug timidly at my sleeve. I turned to look at her curiously. What could possibly make her act all shy and…well un-Hermione like? The Hermione I had seen before today was studious and brave. The Hermione I knew now was unbelievably strong, and the bravest, smartest, most fiercely loyal person I knew.

"Angel?"

"Um…could you… _help_ me get to the room?" she asked, her eyes trained the sheets.

Help, asking for help, that's what had her so… subdued and uncomfortable? Of course it is. She probably isn't used to asking for help. She definitely isn't used to letting people know that she's vulnerable. It must be killing her to let anyone know that she isn't in the best disposition at the moment. She must be really, _really _hurting if she's asking for help.

"Are you hurting too much?" I asked carefully, if she was, we should probably find something or someone to treat her.

"No, I'm just exhausted," she answered.

Of course she was bloody exhausted. Not to boast or anything, but my defenses weren't exactly a walk in the park to get through. Even Dumbledore would have had a hell of a time trying to get in. She got through quicker than I had thought possible _and_ she even transferred some of her memories into my mind, and that took a heap ton of magic and focus. Then after that, she had to see her best friend, practically brother, suffer a hell very similar to the one she had suffered, and, _then_, she had to penetrate old Voldy's mind, and I'd bet every knut in the Black family vaults that he had even better defenses than I did, bloody paranoid bastard. I couldn't even begin to imagine the horrors she must have seen, but judging from how hard she had been trembling and sobbing, it was beyond horrifying. I think exhausted was a gross understatement.

"Just be my crutches, yeah?" she asked, her eyes pleading. I had no doubt that if she thought I was hesitating, she'd try to walk on her own and swallow any pain she could be feeling at the moment.

"I have a better idea," I replied, and before she could form a reply I took her into my arms, and started following Harry and Tom out the room.

I was surprised at how easy it was to lift her. She was definitely _way_ lighter than she should have been. Sure she was petite, but no fourteen, almost fifteen, year old should be so light. I shifted her slightly, trying to get her into a more comfortable position, when I felt it. I could feel them. I could nearly count each individual one. I could feel her ribs and spine under the thin material of her summer dress. It wasn't overtly noticeable, or else I would have noticed sooner (well at least I hoped that was the case), but I could feel them now, and she was without a doubt undernourished.

"They didn't feed you?" I asked darkly, feeling anger well up inside of me. I saw her hesitate. That alone was enough of an answer, but I wanted to hear it from her.

"Don't you dare lie or blow it off as unimportant, either," I warned.

"I-I ate what I could sneak in the mornings. They always kept inventory, the only thing they bloody knew how to do. And I had whatever I could get for lunch… normally, I would have a sandwich and chips for lunch with the Richards," she admitted softly. Harry and Tom's fists clenching proved that they had heard everything that had been said.

"Have you at least been eating well here and at Hogwarts?" I asked, trying to calm myself.

No wonder she was so sodding small and looked so delicate… but no she wasn't delicate, she was fucking fragile and breakable! She could have died with the exertions and injuries my escapade had caused. How could she put herself at such a risk?

"Tom won't allow me to skip a meal," she replied easily.

"And at Hogwarts?" I persisted.

I felt her body stiffen slightly in my arms. She looked away and didn't answer. That meant nothing good. She was probably starving herself at Hogwarts too!

"At Hogwarts she had a piece of toast with jam and butter for breakfast, skips lunch more times than not, and she has a small dinner," Harry spat, making Hermione flinch.

"Are you trying to kill yourself?" I hissed. That was the only conclusion I could make. Did she just want to slowly waste away?

"No, that would be letting them win," she replied primly.

"Then?" I growled.

"I couldn't let myself get used to eating more… It would only make it harder when I got back. I learned that by the time Christmas break came around first year," she muttered, as I took us into the musky room Tom had just disappeared into.

Harry looked as murderous as I felt, but there was something else too. His emerald green eyes seemed torn and conflicted, as well as livid. What was there to be torn about? The bastards deserved to die, that was all there was to it.

"And yet you _sent_ me _food_!?" Harry exploded just as I had laid her carefully on the bed.

She did what? She fed him, but didn't save anything for herself. Was she mental? She could have kept some for her!

"You were starving too, and you still sent me food! Are you _stupid_? Are you bloody _suicidal_? Is _that_ what you want? Do you just want to _die_?! Why didn't you keep some for yourself, damn it?!" Harry ranted.

"I wouldn't have been able to taste a single bloody morsel," she finally yelled back.

I cringed at the sound. She sounded so miserable but angry and scary at the same time. This wasn't Hermione in berating mode. This was pissed off, hurt Hermione, whose temper was lashing out with very little restraint, this was a Hermione I was seeing for the first time.

"Did you honestly think I never tried to get some food for myself? Did you seriously think I wanted _that_ to happen? I tried, and I tried, and I _tried, _and it always failed. I _always_ failed. They _always_ found it. They _always_ ate it as they made fun of me for being stupid enough for trying and made me watch every bite they took. I was always punished for _anything_ they found. I was lucky they didn't find my earnings, but the only reason they didn't was because it was a health hazard for them to want to go anywhere near it, under the loose floorboard, covered by soggy cardboard and dead mice!" she ranted, tears running fiercely down her cheeks.

I stared at her shocked. Her eyes that had been brown not two seconds ago glowed gold, green, and then silver and blue, before settling into a vibrant hazel, a flurry of those same colors. The air around her grew heavy, seemingly charged with energy. Her brown hair seemed to take on a reddish hue as it appeared to crackle, releasing gold sparks that resembled tiny flames.

"'Mione?" Harry squeaked.

"Angel, how did they punish you?" I asked softly, not sure I wanted to know.

I thought she had told us everything, but apparently it had only been a _brief_ overview. She had told us enough to get _an idea_ of what her life had been like, but I don't think any of us thought it could have possibly been this _bad_. I don't think any of us thought anyone could be so, so _disgustingly cruel_, especially not with the calm tone she used when telling us.

She faltered, making my heart clench. Her hold on the wind was released, and her hair returned to its usual curly, wild, but not crackling, brown self. Her eyes, however, remained the same: swirls of gold, like liquid fire, silver, like the icy, raging wind, dancing in pools of green, like the Welsh forest, and blue, like the deepest sea.

My eyes widened in realization. Now, the question was, was it magic-induced or a natural affinity? Lily had a natural affinity. She was the only reason I could recognize this. There was no way Hermione actually knew what was happening to her. The only books on this were either in the Black or Potter library. She probably thought she was some kind of freak.

"I-I don't remember," she cried softly. "I-I just remember the taunting, the laughing, and hurting afterwards," she sniffled, wiping her tears. "… but I didn't have a single scratch, everything just… hurt," she continued perplexed.

I gaped as it dawned on me. I had been surprised and horrified when she had told us about being obliviated, but now I was livid. It seemed that it dawned on her at the same time it dawned on me.

"No," she gasped. "I'll murder him," she growled, her hair turning bright red as gold flames danced around her.

"Not if I get there first," I growled.

We locked eyes, our equally livid expressions serving to calm each other, even if the reasoning behind our calm was completely different. In my mind, I knew she calmed since she could feel and see that someone was there with her, willing to avenge the harm that had come unto her. Her rage calmed me because I knew that no one who was truly broken would have the strength to fight back. Her anger proved that she wasn't broken, just a bit battered but still strong. Slowly, the small flames died away, but her hair, instead of returning to her chocolate brown now looked more like a muddy auburn. What the hell? Why was her appearance changing?

"Miss Grangy, Miss?" a squeaky voice called tentatively after a soft pop.

"Er… hello, may I help you?" Hermione answered politely.

"Master Draco sends you here this book and this letter, and he says thank you for getting him there on time," the little elf recited.

"Thank you…" she trailed off not knowing her name.

"Poppy," the elf, Poppy, piped.

"Thank you Poppy. You are very kind. Could you do me a favor?" she replied, smiling at the small elf. Poppy blushed brightly, before beaming at Hermione.

"Of course, Miss Grangy Miss!"

"Could you call me Mia, and tell Draco to write at least once a week and to sign as Dragon?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes, Miss Mia Miss," the elf replied with another bright smile, as she handed Hermione the letter and put the large tome on the table beside her bed.

She disappeared with a crack and I turned to look at the book Draco had given her. My eyes widened as I read the title: _Mutata et Specie et Occultant Identitatis_. _Changing and Hiding the Identity and Appearance,_ maybe Draco wasn't the only one who wasn't who he had been told he was. It would definitely explain the hair and the eyes.

-O-

Hermione's POV

"_Dear Mr. and Mrs. Richards and Munchkins,_

_How have you been? Has the ER been terribly busy lately? I would hope not, although accidents tend to happen at the most unfortunate times. Mr. Richards, how has it been at the office? I hope you've gotten some more tame cases lately._

_Anyways, I must apologize for not having written sooner. Things have been a bit overwhelming lately, but they have been wonderful. I had found a good job and a marvelous boss, who has taken upon himself the role of pseudo grandfather. Regretfully, I am seeing myself obliged to moving on. I will miss him dearly (just as much as I miss you all), but I will be visiting him occasionally._

_Much to my surprise, I encountered a boy from school where I was staying, and we've started hitting it off quite well (yes, it's him Chrissy... I hate to admit this, but I've been bested. You were right... I think we're together now, but it's quite complicated. I'm sure it'll sort itself out, however.)_

_I must inform you this will be the last time I will be writing until I make it to school. Please don't worry about me. I will be fine. _

_Much Love,_

_HJG_

**A/N I'm still editing the story, so an actual update won't be up for some time; however, I already have most of the next chapter written, so once I finish editing you can expect one or two new chapters... Anyways, R&amp;R!**


	11. Dumbles, Grimmauld, and Nym

**A/N Hello all! Thank you to all who have followed and favorited and reviewed. It is very, very much appreciated! ^_^**

**Sirius POV**

"Ah, I see," he said as he retracted from my mind, the bastard.

I had waited until the end of the Order's meeting to do what Hermione had instructed me to do, and I had to hand it to her. It worked without a hitch. Harry's note had disappeared only to later reappear on my bedside. Dumbledore hadn't looked the least bit surprised. Well, not until I mentioned that Harry and Hermione were together.

"Well, thank you Sirius for that. Remus, Arthur, Alast… no that wouldn't be wise…" Dumbledore trailed off. "I fear I must reach Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger at once. They may be in great danger, in such a public place," he sighed.

"I'll be damned," I grumbled under my breath. "Now, I have to be nice to the damn elf."

"Kreacher!" I called, trying to keep the angry bitterness from my voice.

"Yes?"

"Bring me a bottle of firewhiskey, _please_," I requested politely. Kreacher's eyes widened before narrowing in distrust, not anger, I noted.

"Does she have to know everything?" I grumbled as Kreacher handed me the bottle _without _a single snide remark. Bloody hell... that's just weird. He's not being foul.

-O-

**Hermione's POV**

"Professor?" I asked, my voice wavering nervously, as I had intended.

"Hello, dear, how are you?"

"Well, but I'm afraid I can't say the same for Harry," I sighed, stepping away from the door to let him in.

"How did both of you come to be here?"

"Harry just got here a couple of days ago… I've been here for a couple of weeks," I replied.

"And why would that be?" he asked softly, searching out my gaze.

Meeting his eyes I softly said, "Certain…circumstances that I could not condone to bear led me to leave home, sir." I allowed him to see all the dragon dung my "parents" had put me through.

"Ah I see," he remarked sagely, as he withdrew from my mind.

_"Ah, but you only see what I want you to see," _I thought, in my best Dumbledore impersonation. I had to hold back a snort at my less than mature behavior, but it was the only thing I could think of doing to keep my temper at bay.

"And well… Harry I don't have to ask," he smiled, meeting his eyes. "I fear you have a trial next Friday."

"A trial?" I gasped. He nodded. "But he didn't do anything wrong!" I exclaimed angrily, while inside I was smiling triumphantly.

Carina had two presentations in one week. This was going to be fun. I hadn't expected a public trial. I had thought that Dumbledore would have tried to fix it all quietly and take all the credit, but this would be _so_ much more fun. I could make some people squirm, while appearing to be on the ministry's side.

"_I know_, but he has to convince the Wizengamot that he hasn't done anything wrong as well. It was _all _I _could _do. They wanted to snap his wand immediately. I bought us some time to prove his innocence. All will be well," he replied sagely, his voice tinted with a hit of tiredness.

_"Hoop there it is! He's certainly laying it on thick,"_ I thought with a mental eye roll.

"Professor? No mean to be rude, but what are you doing here?" Harry asked, not able to help himself. I sighed, locking up his memories had returned him to being just as blunt and impulsive as he had been before we had dropped the whole "this shit is serious" bombshell.

"No offense taken Harry, I assure you, and to answer your question I am taking you both someplace safe," he chuckled.

"Both of us?" I squeaked.

"Yes, Miss Granger. Can't leave you to fend for yourself, now, can I?"

"Thank you Professor," I smiled with relief.

Everything was going according to plan! He didn't suspect a thing and Sirius lost! Ah, sweet victory. I love being right.

"Now, I shall wait for you downstairs as you pack your things," he said, walking out.

I waved my wand and saw as everything arrange itself in my trunk. I made sure that my more _recent_ books were at the very bottom, hidden from view, and with a notice-me-not charm to boot. It wouldn't do to have some idiot seeing something that they shouldn't. I smiled at Harry who looked incredibly nervous.

"Don't worry about the trial Harry. They could always just use some Veritaserum on you. They can't doubt anything you say, if they do," I told him smiling softly. I saw his shoulder relax slightly and his green eyes fill with relief.

"Where do you think we're going?" he asked me as he hauled his and my trunk to the door.

I shook my head. He treated me as if I were made out of glass after what I had said two days ago. He hadn't let me erase any of what I had told him about how I had been treated at home. If it hadn't been because Tom agreed with him _and_ it didn't _really_ interfere with any of our plans, I would have gotten rid of them. I had been afraid that he would have still been angry with me, but I guess Sirius must have talked with him after I passed out. Now, he was just being… like a brother, I guess… caring and protective, so it was nice... really nice. I liked it.

After Harry nearly killed himself twice, trying to haul two trunks downstairs, and a brief five minute argument, we finally settled for charming the trunks to float behind us the rest of the way, since he point blank refused to let me carry my own. Once we made it downstairs, I caught sight of Dumbledore talking to Tom. I smiled at Tom catching his eye as I walked towards them. Dumbledore instantly walked to Harry's side and took his arm.

"Tom, thank you so much for everything. The _Lily _was lovely, but _Marlene _liked the _dragon snapper_ better for some odd reason," I smiled as I gave him a hug and walked towards Dumbledore's outstretched hand.

The second I touched his hand, I felt a sharp pull at my navel. The world was spinning and then I thudded onto the hard ground… well at least I thought it was the ground. It was dark, too dark to see anything. I felt myself grow nervous. I went for my wand. At first, I couldn't seem to find my way to my pocket. I took a deep breath and focused on only getting my hand to my right side pocket. When I finally had my wand in my grasp, I casted a lighting charm. I felt a miniscule amount of magic channel through my wand, but I still couldn't see anything. I could feel myself starting to hyperventilate. I couldn't see. I put in more magic into the lighting charm.

I couldn't see anything! Where were we? Did he do something to us? I reached out, trying to feel Harry. I struggled as I tried to gain a sense of space. After a few frustrating times, I cleared my mind and focused on moving myself until I made contact with him and only him. I allowed myself to relax once I felt him. I made to stand up and pull him up with me, but I couldn't. I couldn't get up because I didn't know which way up was. I was stuck here sprawled somewhere, completely vulnerable, without any way to get into a better position. Oh I was going to hurt someone. I clambered onto Harry. Focusing only on my position in relation to him, since it seemed that space and position only existed in relation to me. (For me at least)

"'Mione, what's happening? Where are we? Why are you on _top(?) _of me?" Harry asked panicked.

_"Stupefy, Diffindo, Reducto, Petrificus Totalus, Colloshoo, Confringo!" _I thought over and over with a fury.

"I don't know, but someone's going to die," I growled, as I continued the onslaught. I was not going to die without a fight. I most definitely not going to stay still, vulnerable, just waiting for the pain to come.

"We're at-! Gah! At-!" several voices cried out desperately. "Black Family Home! Albus! Dumbledore! Merlin, Mercy!"

"Oh, 12 Grimmauld Place, you're at 12 Grimmauld Place," Dumbledore's regal voice called out.

Immediately, I gained a sense of space. As soon as the darkness left me, I stopped my onslaught of spells. I didn't lower my wand, however. I had no intentions of lowering it any time soon either. My hand was still itching to hex someone, anyone, into oblivion.

"Miss Granger, I apologize. You and Mr. Potter are in no danger, I assure you," he said in his grandfatherly tone.

_"Control. Control. Deep breaths. Don't feel. Don't feel. Control."_

I blushed, taking in the damage I had done, even though I felt quite smug about it. I had all the Weasleys, Moody, Remus, Sirius and a young woman whose hair kept changing colors frantically, cowering in a corner behind at least three shields.

Metamorphmagus, my mind processed, as her hair began to slow it's flickering.

"Professor, what did you call me into your office for at the beginning of my fourth year?" I asked training my eyes trained on him, my wand trained on the others.

Better safe than sorry. That little trick was enough to have and keep me on edge. All the occupants in the room, except Moody and Dumbledore, eyed me incredulously. Dumbledore eyed me with annoyance, while Moody seemed well Moody, disgruntled with a hint of proud seriousness in his real eye. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Harry train his own wand at the people-occupied corner, so I allowed my wand to find it's way back to Dumbledore.

"_Aqua Reditus Iuvenis_" Dumbledore replied.

I nodded tersely, my eyes and wand on to Sirius.

"Angel, oh so great one, I assure you that everyone here is who they appear to be. Not just anyone can get in they'd need to know to get in," Sirius said.

Ah, well that makes more sense. It was the… what was it… fidelus! That's it! It must have be the fidelus charm. Dumbledore must be the secret keeper, since it only worked when he told us. Oh, the idiots. Of course they let him be secret keeper. Everyone just trusts him so much. It's not even his bloody house! Oh, the stupidity.

Baby steps, baby steps, I reminded myself. It's all a process. One thing at a time, you don't bring the dictator down before his empire. The empire strikes back if it's still loyal to its ruler. You need to strip the ruler of the empire before you destroy, decimate, and obliterate the ruler.

"Except for her, of course," I nodded at the young woman whose hair had settled into a bright pink. "I like that color actually, much better than the indecisive rainbow you had going there," I smiled, stowing my wand in my pocket. The shields came down as soon as my hand moved away from my wand.

"I haven't heard that one before," she mused. "I like it!" she beamed laughing.

"So, Professor, I think it'd be best if the next unsuspecting souls were given the secret before traveling directly into a place protected by the fidelus. The whole being lost in space bit is not at all pleasant," I smiled at him, effectively lightening the mood in the room.

"I apologize. It seemed to have slipped my mind, I'm afraid," he chuckled. "Well, I must be off. I trust you will be in good company," he said before apparating.

"You're brilliant! It took me ages to figure out what it was. Then again, they didn't not tell me the secret," the pink-haired witch laughed.

"Harry, Hermione, oh so great one, this is my cousin _Nymphadora_ Tonks," Sirius said as he came over to embrace Harry.

"Don't call me Nymphadora," pinky growled. "It's Tonks."

"Tonks… well that's certainly better than pinky," I laughed. "But Nymphadora has a lot of nickname potential… I mean Nym and Dora are kind of cute," I mused.

"I don't like Dora, but _you_ can call me Nym. It doesn't sound too bad and it sure as hell beats Pinky. Won't make much sense if I go for purple or green," she said as she embraced me in greeting. "But that's only if I get to call you Min," she announced.

"Deal," I smiled.

"Well, I'm off. Duty calls," she saluted as she made for the fireplace.

"Ah the beauty of her being an auror, a few hours of uninterrupted peace," Sirius sighed happily.

"I don't know what you're talking about. She seems great!" I protested.

"Only because you two hit it off!" Sirius protested.

"Honestly you guys! I'm not going to hex you. You can stop cowering in the corner," I huffed annoyed. They were still just _there._ It was like they were by a freezing charm. "Learn from Moody, he left the second Nym and I started exchanging pleasantries," I snapped.

"Bossy as ever-"

"-We see"

"That was-"

"Bloody brilliant!"

"Didn't even-"

"-Know up from down-"

"-And she still-"

"-Could've beat our arses!"

"Would've too-"

"If we hadn't put up a shield."

"Oh, show us your ways of bad-arseness and awesomeness of great and powerful Hermione," the twins finished in unison, kneeling at my feet.

"It's great to see you two too," I laughed. Only they could end their twin speak monologue on such a dramatic note and not make complete fools out of themselves.

"Hello Hermione, Harry, it's nice to see you two again," Remus said politely. I rolled my eyes.

"Honestly, Prof… er… Remus, we don't bite," I quipped. "It wouldn't kill you to get a bit closer. I promise I'll be good and not hex anyone unless they _really_ deserve it," I said innocently.

"Who are you and what have you done to Hermione Granger?" Ron asked from the corner, slowly approaching Harry, Sirius and I.

"It's nice to see you too Ron," I smiled.

"Oh, is it really? Becau-"

"Can we not?" I interrupted, before he could start being a total git and put his foot in his mouth. "I really don't want to start a fight over something that you don't and won't ever understand. I had to get away from home and I ended up in the Leaky Cauldron, that's it, alright?" I snapped. "That goes for all of you. I don't want to talk about it, and it wasn't that I didn't want to see you or I didn't trust you," I warned directing my gaze to each and every individual in the room.

Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Ginny looked furious. Mr. Weasley was…well, Mr. Weasley, just looking at Mrs. Weasley. Fred and George were smiling proudly, oddly enough, but then again by definition they were odd.

"Kitty's got claws," I heard them snicker. I rolled my eyes; of course, they'd find a way to make this whole thing funny. Was I really more subdued before or something?

"We were just worried, that's all, dear," Mrs. Weasley smiled tightly. Oh that infamous Weasley temper, I thought ruefully. She looked like she was a second away from blowing her top.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Weasley," I replied softly.

"As much as I enjoy awkwardly standing here, I would love to settle in," Harry finally spoke up.

"But Harry, I'd rather wait and see the _white petunias_ grow," I said jokingly, unlocking the memories of the contact we had before the meeting at the Cauldron, the legilimency test results, and the plans for occlumency training, nonthing more.

"So, who am I rooming with?" he asked, shaking his head slightly.

"You'll be rooming with Ron," Remus replied.

"And Hermione with Ginny," Sirius finished. "We haven't gotten the house settled just yet. Most of the house is a mess, and there's more than a few perilous artifacts."

"We can start on the major clean up tomorrow. Right now, bed sounds really good," I yawned, following Ginny who was already sneaking upstairs.

-O-

**Sirius POV**

"I can't believe she nearly killed us!" Remus exclaimed, as soon as everyone but the adults had gone off to bed.

"Oh come off it Moony. She went into defense mode," I scoffed.

"Those weren't just harmless curses, though," grumbled Molly.

"She threw out quite a few severing charms and blasting curses," Arthur agreed.

"Dumbledore forgot to give them the secret. She couldn't see. She could only hear Harry, and she didn't have a grasp of space. I'd have gone into full panic mode too," I defended.

"I suppose," Molly sniffed, dragging Arthur upstairs with her. Honestly, it's not like she was _trying_ to kill them.

"I need a drink," Moony moaned.

"What's wrong Moony? The big bad wolf scared of a little fourteen year old witch?" I teased.

"You can't talk. You didn't look so high and mighty yourself," he muttered downing a glass of firewhiskey.

"Yes, well, can't blame me, can you? Even _Moody _looked shaken up," I quipped. Moony raised an eyebrow. "Well as shaken up as Moody can be," I amended.

"Whatever, I need a drink or two, maybe three," he groaned.

Brilliant but scary was right, I thought with a shiver. I never thought I'd find myself agreeing with the youngest male Weasley, but by Merlin, Hermione was one scary witch!

-O-

**Narrator POV**

"The nerve of that bitch!" Molly shrieked for what seemed the thousandth time.

It was at moments like these that Albus questioned why he had used her and her litter of red-headed weasels. Then he remembered that she had been sorted into Gryffindor for a reason. She was fiercely loyal, incredibly gullible, and impulsive. He knew all of her dirty little secrets. His silence and "support" equated to having her at his full disposal.

It was disappointing for Albus to see that her older sons along with the carbon copies had turned out to be… unmalleable. It was a pity. They would have proved to be the best assets, but at least the youngest two were stupid, selfish, and greedy to a fault, and that worked perfectly with his plans. He needed them not to question him, the others (since they had a brain of their own) would have questioned him, but not those two. They had been let into the bend just last year, and it had proved to be most beneficial. The weasel boy had played with both of them, leaving them weak, just like he needed them.

"Now, now Molly, you may wake Arthur, calm yourself. He has a strong will despite all these years. Strong impressions must be avoided at all costs," he reminded her gently. Merlin knew how he loathed this grandfather façade he had to give off. Honestly, sometimes the stupidity was too much to keep the benevolent patience he needed to keep up.

"Right, anyways what do you want me to do, now Albus?"

"I'm assuming you have the potions, ready?" At her nod he continued, "we will carry on with what we had agreed for both of them, but treat _her_ as kindly as you can. As you know she fled from the Granger's, so I think it's safe to say that her infamous temper won't see her taking any more mistreatment lightly," he said sagely.

"Alright," Molly consented. "I'll start it all tomorrow."

Little did they know that there was a werewolf who had just finished little less than half a bottle of firewhiskey, barely making his way to his room and had heard the entire exchange.

"_Holy hippogriff dung! I just might need another drink," _said werewolf thought before taking a detour to his old friend's room.

-O-

**Sirius POV**

I watched silently as Remus cursed up a storm and went into full blown crazed wolf meltdown mode.

"Why her?" he finally howled.

"Well, this definitely wasn't how you were supposed to find out," I said awkwardly.

"You agree with him?" he growled, his eyes flashing amber. "You are going to betray her?" he snarled, taking on a pouncing stance.

Shit, Moony's pissed. How the hell was I supposed to know that Moony was as attached to her as much as Remus? I would have been more careful if I had known.

"No! I would never betray her. She's the best person I know, Moony. She's kind, loyal, and full of love. I could never do anything that would hurt her," I said honestly, meeting Moony's glowing amber eyes. His stance relaxed and his eyes took on a less murderous look. I allowed myself to relax a bit.

"Explain," he demanded, Moony still on the defensive.

"I didn't know about any potions, and I doubt she has any idea either, so we're going to have to warn her, when we catch her alone," I replied. "Moony… how do you feel about Hermione?"

"Hermione good. She loves man and wolf. She is nice, and part of pack," he announced proudly. With that Moony let Remus resurge.

"Remus, I need you to listen closely to what I am going to say. You're going to have to keep Moony on a short leash. Hell, even I got close to losing it and I got it in small doses," I sighed.

At his nod, I told him Hermione's story. I didn't tell him about Draco or Marlene. I could tell it was already too much. He was barely hanging on by a thread, and it tore my heart to see him like this. His eyes flashing between green and amber but both held the same sorrow and rage. She was part of his pack. He considered her part of the pack, and he hadn't been able to protect her.

"Remus, Moony, we need to let him think we are still loyal to him. We need to see what he's up to before we do anything," I told him, clutching onto his shoulders.

"She will not be hurt," Moony growled, his voice pained.

"Not if we can help it," I affirmed.

His eyes returned to their usual green. Now, that he was back in control, I let myself think about what he had told me.

"Wait, you said that they had sadid _them_ when talking about the potions. She was the main target, but she wasn't the only one. Who else are they targeting?" I thought out loud.

"I don't know. How the hell am I supposed to know? Fifteen minutes ago, I thought Albus bloody Dumbledork was a sodding saint. Turns out I was wrong. Turns out that he had even Moony fooled," he growled exasperated.

"Guess Hermione's going to have to figure it out herself," I sighed.

"You honestly think she ca-"

"Brightest witch of the age, Remus," I reminded him.

"I still don-"

"You'd be surprised," I interrupted him. "She's the one who figured out what had been done to her. She's also unearthed a lot of crazy shit, but I'll let her tell you that. She's going to test you anyways, especially now," I chuckled, trying to picture her staring Remus down.

"Test?"

"You'll see," I chuckled. "Just go to bed Moony, and don't drink anymore. You don't want to be all hung over tomorrow now do you?"

"Sod it, I need another bloody drink," he grumbled, leaving my room.

**-O-**

**Hermione's POV**

She thanked Merlin for the thousandth time that Ginny was a light sleeper. The creaky old floorboards were a true pain in the derriere. Finally, she had gotten out of the room! Now, to find the accursed library, I thought with a smile. I had been lucky enough to have caught a glance of it earlier, when I had made my way up to the room I would be sleeping in.

I wandered down the corridors, relishing in the safety that the dark provided. Not that she was too worried, everyone had fallen asleep a long, long time ago... well at least according to the rather distracting, maddening, soothing voice. Aha! Finally the beautiful, dusty, and rather frighteningly cursed library. With a wicked smile, I lit my finger with a tiny flame. It probably wasn't the brightest idea, but I really didn't want to bother with my wand. Besides, the fire was comforting, especially in the new, unfamiliar, and more than slightly threatening environment.

I walked along the shelves, my eyes trailing over the titles. _Killer Plants, and How to Use Them, The Power of the Dark Arts, Most Potente Potions, La beaute de la magie noir, The Tricky Transfiguration Book, Wizarding Bonds: Matters of the Soul, an overview, _that one looked promising. I was most definitely coming back for it. _Connexions de Magie Ombragee, Liens de Puissance et Immortalite..._ Most definitely! I'm so glad I actually bothered thoroughly learning French, Latin, and Spanish, since most of the books here seem to be in one of those languages. But those three will most likely have the answers to Harry's head problem and the enigma of my connection to Draco, if there is one and I'm not crazy. (Well, certifiably insane... because I think I've already been proved crazy...)

**A/N *****The books titled in French are as follows: the beauty of black magic, the bonds of shady magic, bonds of power and immortality... **

**And there it is. I was feeling in a jokey mood, and this was the result. I can't wait for the next chapter! A potion-high Hermione, a Hermione/Remus stare down, and some heavy clean up is on the agenda. (well hopefully, no promises)**

**And this chapter is officially edited :D **

**Anyways R&amp;R ppl plz! **


	12. Moony Remy's Princess

**A/N Yay! I got another chapter in! :D Please excuse any the baby. Yes, there will be baby/two-ish year old talk so yeah... it's not that I was on something while writing. It's supposed to be like that. (sound it out, and you should be fine... well kind of... I'm not very good at baby talk...)**

**This is a passive chapter of sorts. Not much time passes, but things happen. Things are remembered. Things are revealed, and Hermione gets tipsy, crazy, sobby, pissed, and blood-thirsty... I shouldn't have told you that. Oh, well... Hagrid moment. Too late now.**

**Review, tell me what you think...**

**Narrator's POV**

"Hmm, well Ronald said she was the most stubborn witch in existence. Knowing her roots, she's got a stronger will than my Arthur-kins. Maybe an extra dash… it's not like it'll kill her anyways," Molly muttered to herself as she fixed up some tea for Hermione and a treacle tart for Harry.

She smiled wickedly to herself as she heard Hermione's dainty, graceful steps approaching the kitchen. That girl was just too predictable. Molly rolled her eyes; it was because of her that she didn't get her beauty sleep anymore. It had been an unhappy coincidence that she had discovered the girl's schedule: be up at ungodly hours, tidy up as much as possible (not that she did it consciously, she was just used to it. Molly, of course, didn't know that little tidbit, she just saw an annoying little pest trying to infest her kitchen), and then eat like a damn anorexic bird (something Molly scoffed at. How dare she look so slim and beautiful and graceful?).

"Oh, good morning Mrs. Weasley," she chirped. That bird was just too optimistic and happy, despite how horrible Albus had hinted her home life was like.

"Good morning, dear," Molly smiled warmly. "Care for a spot of tea, while I fix up some breakfast?"

"Oh, that would be lovely," Hermione smiled gratefully, relieved that it seemed she had avoided the Molly Maelstrom.

Oh, how woefully wrong she was. Molly was still livid, but she was more than pleased with the silent revenge she would be having on the unsuspecting and defenseless Hermione. She would enjoy seeing her being crushed by her son, seeing all her brains and beauty go to waste, trapped at home caring for, knowing her son, at least five little Rons.

"This is really something, Mrs. Weasley! I can't really pick it out, but is that ginger?" she asked, a dazed expression on her face. (*Hahahaha! Get it? :D)

Molly nodded, laughing warmly, trying not to let any nervousness show. How was she supposed to know she was good at picking out flavors. She turned to get started on breakfast, but not before putting Harry's treacle tart on a plate on the kitchen counter. Heavens knew her little boys needed to be well fed!

Having finished her cup of tea, Hermione felt her stomach pull and twist strangely. It reminded her of the times she had opted to skip lunch, but without the gnawing hunger. It was a sense of unease and an emptiness of sorts that put her on edge. She was reaching for the kettle to pour herself some more tea, when the plate with the lone treacle tart caught her attention.

There was only one, and that was quite an anomaly for a kitchen Molly Weasley had claimed. She knew something was off but waved it off as unimportant, thinking that Molly must have put it there to accompany her tea. That seemed like the most logical thing to Hermione, since Molly always made everything in bulk. There were always mountains of everything she made, so that all of her children could have more than enough of what they wanted. There was only one treacle tart, so it had to be just for her, most probably an apology of sorts for being so angry and unwelcoming yesterday.

Much to her disdain, the tart and extra cup of tea only made her stomach even more upset. Something was wrong, but she barely had time to process that fact when she heard the tell-tale heavy foot steps of the Weasley boys. It was then that everything went fuzzy. All she could see was blue, and boy was that blue pretty! It was so, so, sooo Ron... Why the mere thought of Ron made her giddy, she didn't know, and she didn't care. Everything was too colorful and fuzzy for it to possibly matter.

"Oh Ron! Have they always been so BLUE? It's such a pretty blue," she gushed, getting closer to those blue orbs that seemed to draw her in.

Suddenly, she caught sight of a stormy, silvery pair of eyes that reminded her of two liquid mercury orbs that did something wonderful to her insides.

"I think silver is just dreamy and and absolute PERFECTION, but... your eyes are kind of like the ocean, you can just drown in them," she sighed happily.

Then she saw the emerald green eyes that reminded her of someone. She ran straight to those vibrant orbs, and just like that it hit her/

"Mummy!" She cried, hugging Harry, burying her face into his shoulder. "Mummy, don't leave me again. I missed you so much!" she cried, clinging tightly onto Harry, tears streaming down her eyes.

Suddenly, she caught sight of something long, silky and red orange from the corner of her line of view. It was soooooo prettiful. She just had to touch it!

"Ooo! Pretty! Smooth, shiny fire!" Hermione giggled, tackling Ginny. "Look like fire! I make fire too!" she giggled excitedly, caressing Ginny's hair. "It not like Mummy's yours like-like orangey," she slurred, giggling happily.

"What the bloody hell?" Ron roared, indignant that his girl seemed more attracted by his sister's hair than him.

-O-

**Sirius's POV**

"He sound angry…. Why he angry?" Hermione asked confused. "Angry! Grrr," Hermione laughed suddenly.

Oh Merlin! Why did Molly have to get her dirty little paws on her so early in the morning?

"It's like she's… high," Harry murmured, causing Hermione to eye him strangely.

"You have no idea," I huffed mentally.

"Daddy!" she cooed happily, her hands reaching up for him, as if she wanted him to pick her up. Her face fell the second her eyes latched onto his worried, emerald eyes. "No! Mummy! Not, Mummy! Not, bwodah!" she cried, her eyes turning unseeing.

She must be dreaming something, but she didn't have a brother. She didn't have one, right?

"Mummy, no!" Hermione sobbed. "Bad man! You bad! You hurt Mummy! You hurt Mummy!" she cried enraged, sobs racking her frame, as her unseeing eyes began to glow.

I knew what that glow meant would come. I knew I needed to calm her down, before whisking her away from prying eyes. I knew who could calm her down, but he couldn't be seen here. I took a deep breath, and tried to focus on the love I felt for Marlene. It wasn't the same. It wasn't like before Azkaban, or like the pureness and entirety of their love and devotion for each other, but it was something. It had to work. I looked into her eyes, not daring to touch her. Her skin wasn't glowing just yet, but it wouldn't do to risk outing her ability like this. There would be no chance in keeping this from Dumbledore, if they saw I got hurt by just touching her.

"Mia," I cooed, looking her directly into her eyes. "Mia, please," I pleaded, trying to sound like Draco.

Harry caught on quickly, he approached Hermione, and shut his eyes, he like me, figuring that it had to be his eyes that were making her go barmy. He pulled her tightly into his arms.

"Daddy!" she cried. "Dwaco safe. He wid Uncwe Siwi. Bad man. Bad man hewe. Dwagon safe. He hewe. He hewe. Need woo go. Daddy. Pwease. He wan hurt. He bad," she mumbled, sniffling. "Need go. Need go now."

"Bad man isn't here. Bad man can't come here," Harry comforted.

"Pwomise?" she sniffled, burrowing herself into his neck.

"I promise. I'll keep you and mummy safe," Harry promised.

"And Brudah, Hawwy?" she asked pulling away.

"Yes, and brother," he replied soothingly, oddly channeling a very paternal James.

Harry? What? Uncle Siri? Merlin, this is freaky. Something's there, so close, but I can't reach it. It's right there, just out of reach. I didn't have time to contemplate on any of it, however. Remus pushed past us, and took Hermione in his arms. He dashed upstairs before anyone had time to react. I hurried after him, into Remus's room.

"Remy, Moony Remy. Eyes wolfy," she giggled as he dropped her onto his bed.

I didn't know if he dropped her purposefully or if it was because of the shock. He froze, his eyes, in fact, amber. This was beyond creepy. What the bloody hell was going on? Those words unsettled me beyond belief, and Remus's wolf refused to fade. There had to be something there.

"Hermione," I cooed.

"No, me angwe," she pouted.

"Princess," Moony purred.

"Moony Remy!" she beamed. Remus's eyes returned to their usual green with that.

It all felt so unsettling, but I couldn't place why. I couldn't even begin to know where to start to begin to look. It was so frustrating.

"Daddy lied," Hermione began to cry. "I toll 'im. He say we safe. Bah man hur Mummy. Bah man wanna hur bwudah," she sobbed.

"Princess, how did you know bad man was coming?" Remus asked softly.

"Dwagon and me, we fell 'im. I make dwagon leave. I no let 'im hur 'im! Me stwong! Me wa' gonna 'ell Mummy and Daddy! Dey was gonna go, an' I wa' gonna makim go 'way. Plan's and 'lames were gonna 'elp… but Daddy and Mummy no go. Dey didn' take Hawwy. Bad man hur Mummy. I no know where Daddy go," she sniffled.

"Oh, Princess," Remus choked.

"Remus what the fuck is going on?" I growled.

I didn't understand anything. Every time I tried to come up with some sort of explanation, I came up completely blank. I couldn't help feeling that I was missing something, but it just evaded me. I didn't know what it was, and it made me beyond angry and frustrated.

"Oooh, Uncwe Siri bad. He use baw wowd!" tipsy, two year old Hermione admonished.

"Princess, try to sleep," Remus purred.

"Ony if Moony Remy sing," she replied in her sweetest voice. The look she was giving him made me not want to deny her anything and it wasn't even directed towards me!

"When the sun drops out of sight

And stars twinkle in the night,

When the birdies fly to rest,

There's a place I love the best:

Remy's lap, 'cause it's my nest.

Here on Moony's lap.

Lullaby,

Lulla, lullaby," his deep rumbling voice sang fondly, lovingly. He repeated it until Hermione's eyes began to droop.

"Love Moony Remy," she breathed, before falling into a deep slumber.

"Love ya, Princess," he sighed, kissing the top of her head.

-O-

**Remus POV**

I remembered. I didn't only fail Harry. I had failed my Princess. My little Princess had been alone, alone with monsters that had treated her worse than how Harry had ever been treated. I had left her. I hadn't been able to protect her. It was my job to protect her. She was _mine_. I was supposed to protect her, but I failed. I failed, and it was all because of him, all because of that bastard! It took this, this for Moony to make me remember.

What had that bastard done to her? Her eyes were the same now, but they had been brown when I had seen her third year. Her hair was now, a bit redder than it was yesterday, but it still resembled her hair from third year. I would have to talk to Sirius, he had seen her three days ago. I could smell her and Harry on him. Her smell was different now, more like her from before, but not quite there yet.

"Remus?" Sirius called.

"We need to brew a flushing potion," I replied, pulling out my cauldron.

"Do you have the ingredients?" he asked, setting up the cauldron.

"Yes, I have a lot left over from my failed attempt at making Wolfsbane," I chuckled humorlessly, grabbing what was needed.

"What do you think she gave her?" Sirius asked once we had gotten to the stirring part of the brewing.

"Love potions, I think I smelled three, and a shit ton of ginger," I growled.

"To hide the taste?"

"Yes," I hissed.

"That's kind of funny," Sirius snickered, more likely than not thinking about how punny the situation was.

"I'd shut up if I were you," I menaced. "This is anything but funny."

"She brewed a potion for her to fall in love with a ginger and covered it up with some more ginger. She overdosed on ginger, how is that not funny?" Sirius reasoned.

If it wasn't Hermione, my Princess, I would probably think it was slightly amusing. However, that wasn't the case, and I wanted to rip out Sirius's lungs for finding anything slightly amusing about this. She was hurting. She still had her memories of that night. This wasn't the first time she remembered. I just knew it. She probably relived it every sodding time she was emotionally and mentally vulnerable.

She could reach her memories, even after that bastard had done to her what he had done to Sirius and me, to Tom and Marlene. Marlene… what had happened to her? I couldn't remember her suffering the same fate as all of us. Oh shit! What happened to my Princess's Dragon? She'd be devastated if he had suffered the same fate she had. What happened to Sirius's pup? What mess had he made of things?

"Sirius, what does she know?" I asked slowly, remembering what he had told me last night. She didn't know about the potion, but he knew that she'd be able to figure out who made the them… well, a them.

"She knows more than I do, but I'm guessing from how you're acting that she might know less than you," he grumbled bitterly.

"I don't know… I remember," I countered.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he growled.

"We need her to wake up and get all that shit out of her system before I say anything."

"Well, looks like it's done, we just have to let it simmer for a few hours."

"Good. Go downstairs, and tell them she's out like a light. That'll give her some space. I'll watch over her," I instructed.

"What is there to watch over? She's asleep!" Sirius huffed.

"No one is getting anywhere near her," I growled, feeling Moony aching to come out. We had to protect our princess, even if she had her dragon.

"Merlin, so touchy," he sniffed.

Deep breaths, deep breaths, it's how he copes, I reminded myself. He doesn't mean it. He's an idiot. He cares about her too. Even if it's not the same, but he cares. She saved him. He wouldn't let any harm reach her.

-O-

**Hermione's POV**

I felt something burning cold traveling down my throat and into my stomach. My stomach still felt funny, but the cold thing was making it feel better… maybe not. Now, it was hot, really hot. I could feel myself sweating, my clothes growing heavy with sweat, but I couldn't get up. I was too tired. My muscles were not cooperating. I needed to get up. What if they came to get me? They'd hit me, and then I'd burn everything, and the plants would keep me safe as my wind broke the windows. They'd get scared and angry, then everything would go dark, and everything would hurt.

Wait! Mum! The dream, no the memory! My Mummy… the bad man… no there were two… right? Dragon! No, he's safe. He went to Uncwe… Uncle Siri… Sirius… he's Uncle Siri! Moony Remy is Remus. I-I remember. My brother… I have a brother! He's Harry. It's been Harry all along. I was going to kill Dumbledore and whoever he was either working for or was working for him.

I was going to make him wish he had never messed with me. I was going to keep him rooted in a room full of windows. I was going to make sure the broken glass left him bleeding profusely. Then I was going to make a fire start closing in on him ever so slowly, so he could feel the heat. I would make his skin melt and then I'd put him in a nice little sphere of water, only to release him and have him feel the heat of the fire again. I'd have him in so much pain, he'd beg for death.

"Her hair's getting redder again," I could hear Sirius's muffled voice.

Of course it is, it's supposed to be like that. Godric knows what that bumbling arse did to me. My hair had looked like pretty red fire, according to Draco, anyways. It was never supposed to be a sodding dead bush. My eyes had been hazel like Daddy's gold and green mixed together, not muddy… well, they should be more well me now, not exactly like Daddy's… wind and water said they had blessed me. They were now at the whims of my spirit and magic… so they should be a tad bit more colorful… but still, they were never supposed to be brown.

He had stripped me of everything. He hadn't left me with a single thing. Not one thing that could hint at who I was. Well that didn't matter now, now did it? I knew who I was, who I am, and nobody messes with my family. He should've known that by now. After all, my family is quite ancient.

My heart quivered at the thought of still withholding that Draco was indeed Draco Alexander Black from all of them. They deserved to be happy, but I wasn't going to let them be in danger of losing it all just because he still held some power. I would keep them blissfully ignorant until I dealt with him. I could only hope that they wouldn't hate me for not telling them that I had known the second I had confirmed Draco's birthday.

"I still don't know what the hell that bastard did to her," I heard Moony Remy, Remus, growl.

It was much clearer than before. I could feel the burn fading away. I was still tired beyond reason, but at least I didn't feel as heavy as before. Wait, what happened to me? I was just there drinking that cup of tea, and… it felt wrong… it was like with… Oh.

The damn treacle tart was tainted too… Now, what was in it? Think Hermione, what do you remember? Blue, and red orange. Okay, blue like what? What kind of blue… Eye blue… Ron eye blue... and long orange… like hair… like Ginny! Holy Royal Kelpie! A LOVE POTION! Well Potions…Why am I not surprised? Oh, right, nothing new for little Molly Wobbles, is it? Looks like a certain she-weasel has earned some quality time with little, vengeful me, I thought viciously.

If it had just been me, I would have considered maybe having a bit of mercy, but no one messes with my little brother's love life. Well, no one but me! Shit, he's still there with her. Molly isn't getting her evil little weasel paws anywhere near him.

Harry, I tried to say, but it wouldn't come out. It was just ridiculous!

"Body, I seriously do not have your time. Do what I want you to do, got it?" I commanded myself.

"Harry," I mumbled/moaned.

"Remus, she's waking up!" Uncle Siri, Sirius, cried happily.

He was in way too chipper of a mood. No one has the right to be so damn happy when Harry is so close to that- that- snake!

"Harry," I tried again.

"What Angel, oh so great one?"

"Harry, potion," I mumbled, trying to get my eyes to open. "Save," I groaned out.

"Uh, Moony?" Siri mumbled confused.

Was he always this dense? I could've sworn he was bloody brilliant once upon a time. What was so hard to understand? It's not like I was speaking in Alien!

"Shit! I think she figured it out!" Remy exclaimed. "Pads, keep an eye on Harry. He's the them," Remy explained cryptically.

And that's why I liked Moony Remy better. He actually has a brain… well that's a little harsh. Sorry, he actually uses his brain.

"Oh, Godric, I sound like a total bitch! This whole potion thing really made me moody… Maybe even more moody than Moony when it's that time of the month!"

"Princess?"

That's what he used to call me! Does he remember? Could he possibly. Gah! I need to get up now! I put all my strength into opening my eyes. I needed to see him. I needed to make sure. I needed him. I needed him to tell me I wasn't crazy. I needed him to tell me it was true, that it wasn't all in my head. Finally, after what felt like years, I could feel my eyelids actually moving. It took my eyes some time to adjust, but there he was, looking at me like he used to, like when I was his princess. My wolfy was back just like my memories.

"Moony Remy, your eyes are wolfy again," I cooed, looking into his amber eyes.

"Princess," he purred.

"Princess is fine, how's my Moony Remy?" I slurred, still too tired to talk much.

"Princess is tired," he insisted.

"Princess wants to know," I pouted.

"Moony Remy, was gone for long time. It was just Moony and it was just man," he growled.

"Man's name is Remus," I cajoled him.

"Moony Remy didn't like it," he huffed.

"No, Moony Remy likes it when Moony and Remus are together and happy, right?" I smiled fondly.

"Moony Remy likes it when Princess is happy, so if Moony and man being one makes Princess happy, then Moony Remy happy," he purred.

"Good," I breathed, feeling my eyelids close.

"Sleep, Princess, I'll keep you safe," he purred, nudging me into dreamland.

**A/N**

**Okay, so I've just finished editing this (4/22/15)**

**Anyways, review, please!**

**Hasta la proxima! ^_^**


	13. Falling Ill

A/N This is quite a bit longer than previous chapters. HOWEVER, there is a lot of overlap, not too much happens, but I promise that the upcoming chapter will have a bit more "action" in it.

Draco's POV

It's nearly unbearable. It hurts so much and it feels so wrong. I feel empty and hollow. I don't know why, and that only adds to my grumpy mood. It's too early to be alive, let alone be in so much pain. I couldn't help but think that something was hurting my Mia, but that just seemed too ridiculous. I mean, she was Salazar knows where, and she was supposed to be with Sirius, my dad.

Yes, he was, well is, my dad. I know Mia wanted to make sure she had dealt with Dumbledore, but I could see the way she looked at me, when I told her my birthdate. My suspicions were only confirmed when I saw Sirius. I mean our eyes were identical and we had a lot of the same mannerisms.

I knew why she did it, why she kept it from us. I could feel what she had felt. She didn't mean any harm. She didn't mean to hurt us. She only wanted to make sure that we never went through what she had to go through her whole life. She had lived the past four years living in relative happiness only to have that ripped away from her every single time she had to go back.

That was one thing that tore at me. She hadn't told us everything. The things she said were terrible, yes, but they weren't nearly enough to merit such an intense sadness and fear of rejection. There was more, so much more, and it killed me that she hadn't told me. Sure, I haven't told her anything about my home life, but I feel like she somehow knows, and I want to know everything about her. Every little detail about her, good or bad, I want to know.

Oh Merlin! Now the world feels floozy. I was dizzy. I never got dizzy, not unless I was running a high fever. Oh, never mind. I was. I was in a cold sweat, my body draining of energy fast. I wanted to call out to Poppy and get a Pepper Up or something for whatever this was, but my strength was leaving me, and fast. It felt like a part of me was trying to be ripped away. I hadn't seen anything trying to depart from my body, but the physical strain was as taxing as it was painful.

I was weak, tired, and vulnerable. I closed my eyes, and tried to work on a deviation of Occlumency that could help with minor physical ailments. I withdrew into my mind, trying to lose my current sense of being, to lose myself within myself. I was floating in darkness, unfeeling of everything and anything when a flood of images hit me without warning. Happiness, fear, sadness, reluctant belief, betrayal, anger, they all washed over me, consuming me. This was ten times worse than the pain. This was mental, emotional, and sensory overload. If I thought I was dying with the stomach ache and the fever, then this was a vengeful death seeking me personally to give me a most torturous end. Eventually, the inflow of information slowed until, finally, it stopped.

I remembered. I remembered that night. I remembered what the Dumbledork had done. He's going to regret messing with a Black, especially if that Black happens to have a temper to rival that of his namesake.

-O-

after spilling pumpkin juice all over a flabbergasted Harry, and running from an irate Molly...

Sirius's POV

"What are you saying?" I asked, utterly perplexed. They just weren't making any sense. They wouldn't tell me anything! Nothing, not a single word! Well… they didn't say anything helpful.

"I-I need you to let me in willingly and not try to push me out if I go in too deep," Hermione replied nervously, finally coming clear about one thing.

"Why?" I asked her incredulous. What the hell was this girl up to? What did she want with my mind?

"I need to see something..." was her hesitant reply.

"That doesn't answer my bloody question!" I exploded, feeling the little control I had on my frustration snap. I heard Moony growl in response, but Hermione remained unfazed.

"Please, Sirius. I'd rather not force my way in," she pleaded sweetly, giving me the same look she had given Remus earlier.

I hated her. I really, really did. How the hell was I supposed to refuse when she gave me that look? How could I say no? I just couldn't and everyone in that room, including me, knew it. I nodded my consent, knowing it was useless. Might as well get it over with now, I sighed.

"I'll try to make it as painless as possible," she promised solemnly as her eyes ensnared mine.

If it wasn't because I knew she was in my mind, I never would have noticed she had side-stepped my defenses. She was so gentle. I couldn't feel the prodding that came with legilimency. It just felt like water, nice, warm, relaxing water. I focused harder on her eyes, to keep myself from drifting off.

"Join me, yeah?" she mentally asked me, the second I started losing the battle and started drifting into my mind.

"That was your plan all along, wasn't it?" I thought-asked.

She didn't reply. I rolled my eyes mentally, knowing that it was her way of trying to maintain my mind as untouched and unaffected as possible. I didn't blame her. This looked worse than the Shrieking Shack after a Moony rampage… well, not that bad. Her implantation of happy memories had really done a great improvement. She had given me the light and hope I was in such a dire need of. She had given me something that I could build on. She had given me the kick in the arse I needed to start getting my life put back together.

I had been grateful the moment she had shared that with me, but it hadn't been until I woke up that I began to understand exactly how much she had done for me. She had given me so much. She had shown me all of the light she had ever known, and let me keep it.

Suddenly, we were no longer cruising through my jacked up mind. We had reached some heavy turbulence and it was making travelling through while lost in thought impossible. I could feel her vague presence, just like at the beginning, so I knew I hadn't strayed off. Why, then, was it so heavy, dark, and murky here? It felt like trying to run through an underwater forbidden forest while wearing lead shoes.

"Push Siri, push, you need to see this for yourself. I can't do it for you. Push," I could hear Hermione say softly.

I couldn't help but obey. I could practically see that look again, and that was all I needed to at least try. It wasn't just that, though. I could feel something… well it was more like I thought that I could feel something. I could feel that there was something just there, behind this whole… mess.

I felt her behind me, a source of support, yielding me strength. I tried to push myself further in. It was… strenuous. I didn't think I'd be able to get through on my own. I wanted her to help me, but I couldn't ask that of her. I needed to do this on my own. I just knew it.

I had to do this myself. I had to… but I was so tired. Even with her there with me, it was too much. It just never ended. I wasn't getting anywhere, and it was dark and suffocating, and I wanted to go back. I could always come back and try again later, right?

"No, you can't come back later. You can do this. Push," she instructed, rearing me into action once more.

I pushed through, working through the unbearably thick darkness. I brushed off the claws that seemed intent on pulling me back. To hell I was going back! All that effort was not going to waste. Besides, if it was trying so hard to keep me away, that meant that whatever I would find would be well worth it. I threw myself through the claws, innately knowing that I was nearly there. My instincts had been right, there weren't any more claws. It was just empty. Tentatively, I reached out. I closed my eyes, as my hand met with smooth glass.

Wait, glass? What? I ran my hands against it, trying to find some kind of imperfection that I could exploit to get through it. I could feel it warming against my palm. It wasn't scalding… It was pleasant. Was that normal? I didn't think so. It didn't make any sense to have so many blocks and defense mechanisms, just for a nice, warm, pleasant piece of glass.

"Dwagon!" My eyes flew open. I've heard that before. I know I have.

"What no kiss for Uncle Siri?" I heard myself chuckle.

"Sowwy, Uncwe Siwi."

"No, mine!"

"Dwaco, me go say hi."

"Buh, Mia,"

"Be nice Dwaco. He yous Daddy."

I can't remember! I can't sodding remember! I know I've heard it before. Where is it? Where are they?

"Da! Da! Bad Man!"

I needed to get through. I knew those voices. I knew that voice. I needed to get through. I was going to get through. I punched and kicked and clawed at the glass barrier between me and the voices. I could feel it bending and cracking under my attacks.

"Let me through, damn it!" I roared, sending another flurry of fists and feet at it.

The glass fell slowly, then all at once. I sagged onto my knees, exhausted, letting everything behind the glass wall wash over me. Warmth, love, passion, anger, fear, desperation, hope, gratefulness, and betrayal, that was what lay behind the wall, in my ripped memories.

How could I have let this happen? How could I have let myself forget? He was, no is, mine. It was irrefutably confirmed now. She-she, oh Merlin! And Marlene? What happened to my Marlene? I was going to castrate that old bastard and then feed him his old, hairy, saggy b-

"Uncle Siri, we need to get back…. I don't… I can- I won't…"

"Oh, right, sorry," I apologized, realizing that we were still in my mind, while I was having very graphic, murderous thoughts about a certain white-bearded bastard.

"Come on, I can't lose you after just getting you back," she cut me off before I could start another mental rave, materializing before me.

She looked so tired. If I had thought she was drained that day that had thrown our world off its axis, I was wrong. This was drained. She looked pale and sickly.

"I know, let's go," I breathed as she all but dragged my aching-self out.

The second we withdrew from my mind, she slumped to the floor, and would have hit the ground quite painfully, had Remus not caught her just before she could harm herself severely. It worried me that she was so exhausted when I only felt a bit worn. Suddenly, something clicked.

Bloody hell! I swear that girl really is searching of a death warrant. Let me do it myself my arse! Moral support couldn't possibly give me that much more strength. No, of course, she just had to find a way to intervene without intervening physically and possibly hurting my already fragile state of mind. Of course she'd be a sodding natural and innately know how to lend me her magic to get through to the barricaded portion of my mind.

-O-

Remus POV

"So…" I trailed off awkwardly, cradling my Princess in my arms, as Sirius looked on the verge of blowing up in hysterics.

Well, at least, that answered whether he was able to remember or not, I thought wryly, putting Hermione on my bed. It wasn't often that one caught Sirius losing his cool, not with worry at least.

I wanted to help him process everything he had seen, but I hadn't wrapped my head around it yet either, and it had to be a hundred times worse for him. He lost his son and wife (well as far as we know), both alive but legions out of reach. It must be so much more painful for him to remember. Now, he remembers how much he lost, and can't have any of it back, at least not at the moment.

"He is my son. She knew, but didn't want us to get attached and be so close yet not able to be together. She didn't want us to get ahead of ourselves and blow everything… I could see it, you know. In the way she smiled at me and at him. It didn't really click until after he left, and she still looked at me like that, with longing and sadness and then it would morph into happiness and giddiness and peace… She had looked happy and sad all at once, and now I understood… She couldn't let us have it only to have it pulled right from under us immediately afterwards. She would rather have us hope because hope you can live with… loss and despair, however, crush you. She would make everything fall into place so we could be happy," Sirius's eyes teared up. "She would go down trying to make sure we could live the rest of our lives happily and together… she would go down making sure we didn't go through the same hell she did her whole life, having a semblance of happiness only to have it jerked away at every turn, every single sodding time!" Sirius choked out enraged, tears flowing freely down his cheeks.

His mood changed from enraged to sorrowful almost at once. "Now, I remember why I have always called her angel… she's always been one, always so selfless and defending anyone and everyone who needed help. She tricked him that night. She tricked him into going home. She was two, two! And she was… wanted to face him alone… get rid of the threat to her family," Sirius strangled out, sobbing.

Hermione shifted in the bed, catching my eye. Was she that pale a few minutes ago?

"I'm sorry Dragon. I'm so sorry Uncle Siri, Papa Tommy," she moaned, tears spilling from her eyes. My heart broke, seeing her in pain. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I-I please no," she pleaded, agony written on her features.

"Princess, wake up," I pleaded.

"Moony Remy, please, not you too…not you too," she whimpered, more tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Hermione, wake up," I repeated, shaking her.

"Harry, no! I-I'm so sorry," she repeated. What was she sorry for? What was happening to her?

"I, no, you don't have to. I'll go…. I'll do what needs to be done, and then I'll be gone," she said decidedly, her shoulders squaring. "Thank you and goodbye," she smiled a heart-wrenchingly sad smile. Her head turned to the side before whispering, "Thank you for giving me a family… I will always love you," her smile faltering. "Goodbye," she breathed before going completely immobile, her heart beat stuttering before taking a much slower, sluggish pace.

-O-

in Hermione's mind/subconscious...

Hermione's POV

They looked murderous. Their hateful glares pierced through my heart, causing me more pain than I was already in.

"You didn't tell me Angel. Why would you keep me from my son?"

"I never should've trusted you, Lass. You kept the last I had of Marlene from me."

"Mia, why? I just want to know, why?"

He hurt more than the others. They were angry, but he was hurt, in pain, disappointed, betrayed. If the pain I was in earlier felt like death, this was worse. I couldn't take it. My body was burning from the inside out before, but now I was drowning in the flames.

"I'm sorry Dragon. I'm so sorry Uncle Siri, Papa Tommy," I pleaded, hoping against hope that they'd forgive me.

I didn't have the strength to fight them on this. I could only beg that they'd understand, even when I knew they wouldn't, not now at least. "I didn't mean to hurt you," I whimpered looking into Draco's beautiful, betrayed eyes.

"Don't just don't."

"I-I please no," I cried as he looked away from me in disgust.

He couldn't even look at me. What had I done? I turned to Moony Remy for some sort of comfort, but what I found broke me. I could see the betrayal and hatred in his eyes. I had lost them, hadn't I?

"Moony Remy, please, not you too, not you too," I sniffled, trying to hold in the pain. I couldn't succumb to it here, right now. I couldn't let them see me like that, even if they wouldn't care.

I turned to look at Harry, the one person I had avoided looking at until now. He would hate me more than them. He hadn't had a real family, and keeping this from them was the worst thing I could do in his book. A look in his direction confirmed that this in fact was the case. Even though I had already known, it tore my heart to shreds seeing him looking at me as if he were seconds from killing me.

"Save it, 'Mione," he spat. "Let me guess. Poor little Mione wanted a family for herself, and she just couldn't have anyone ruining that for her, now could we?" he sneered.

"No! Harry, no! I-I never… I'm so sorry," I whimpered under those murderous emerald eyes. I needed to get out of here. I didn't have much time. I could feel the cold fire spreading.

"Just give us a day and you'l-"

"No, you don't have to. I'll go," I said as firmly as I could, squaring my shoulders.

Put up a brave face, be strong, I told myself, it'll be done soon. I would be gone come tomorrow. I had just enough time to end this all. I would be content with that. It didn't matter if they never forgave me, they'd be happy. It didn't matter, I'd be happy with that. They deserved at least that.

"I'll do what needs to be done, and then I'll be gone," I resolved. "Thank you, and goodbye," I said smiling.

This was the last they would see of me, they wouldn't see tears. I didn't want them to remember my tears. I wanted them to remember my smiles. They were too rare to not be remembered, that's all I wanted. I turned and walked where I would see to the end of a man and meet my own. Once I had put enough of a distance between us, I allowed myself to say what I had wanted to tell them.

"Thank you for giving me a family. I'll always love you. Goodbye," my voice barely above a whisper.

And then I met with him, Lucifer in a saint's guise. The leader of light. The Wizarding World's saviour.

"I've been expecting you," he said wryly. It was time. I was thankful. "What no snide comments? Silence doesn't become you dea-"

It was over. They had a chance, now. I let myself feel the pain now. I let myself feel it spreading, like a poison, seeking my death. Why would I be allowed death by wand? No, I hadn't gone through enough to merit at least a swift, painless death. I had to be destroyed by the only thing that had held me together and kept me going, the only thing I had always counted on: myself. I would be my own demise, ironic wasn't it?

-O-

meanwhile in the conscious world...

Sirius's POV

"Sirius, she's dying!" Remus choked out, yanking me out of my depressing thoughts.

"What do you mean she's dying?" I growled, wiping furiously at my tear-streaked cheeks.

"I-she-I" Remus stuttered. "No!" Moony howled morosely, coming to the surface for a moment.

My eyes widened as I took her small form in. Her skin was pale, ghostly pale, ghastly contrasted by her muddy blood colored hair. Her face was the epitome of pain and sorrow. What was happening to her?

"We need to get her out of here," I breathed.

"We need to know what's wrong before we move her," Remus countered, running the limited range of diagnostic spells he knew. Much to our surprise, they didn't come up with anything. "Think, think! What could be wrong?" he muttered to himself, beginning to pace furiously.

She was fine earlier, wasn't she? She seemed fine when I had come back from -ahem- heroically saving Harry. Sure the mind séance had left her tired, but it shouldn't have resulted in anything but exhaustion. It shouldn't be anything more than… more than her bloody idiocy and stubbornness….

There was more. There had to be more. Wait! More! Ah it's just right there! What is it? Come on, come on. Think, remember, come on!

....remembered conversation...

"They're more than lovebirds Lords Potter and Black."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I cannot say for I cannot be sure. I have not seen enough, but you must be wary of that which they intake. One wrong potion and it could be their end… just know, they are stronger together…"

"Shit!" I exclaimed. That was it. I had seen it myself, that day. She needed Draco, but he couldn't come here, and we didn't have any time to spare.

"What? What is it?"

"No time. Take her to the Cauldron. Tell Tom we need her room," I instructed.

"What?"

"Just go!" I roared. With that, he took her in his arms and apparated.

"Kreacher!" I called out desperate. "Kreacher, please," I begged, hoping he would hurry. We couldn't lose a single second.

"Master?"

"Please, Kreacher, take Padfoot to Draco Malfoy at Malfoy Manor."

The second I transformed, he reached for my fur and popped us directly into Draco's room. He looked sick as well, but not nearly as ill as Hermione. More than love birds, I confirmed, definitely more than just love birds.

"What happened? Is Mia alright?" he croaked, trying to get off his bed, and failing miserably.

"We don't have time," I replied, taking him in my arms. I turned to Kreacher, "Please, take us to Ms. Granger's room at the Cauldron."

With a solemn nod, he took my room and popped us away.

-O-

Draco's POV

"We don't have time," he choked out, hoisting me into his arms.

He ordered that rude house elf that had insulted Mia to take us to her. That had been the only confirmation I needed. Something was wrong with my Mia. Something, since I had awoken, was telling me that I needed to get to her. I had thought that it was ridiculous, that I was being ridiculous, yet I couldn't dispel that terrifying doubt that something was wrong with Mia. I berated myself for not following my gut, but all thoughts stopped when I laid my eyes on her.

If only I had just gotten Poppy to take me to her, she wouldn't look like she did now, like she was on death's doorstep.I felt another pang of pain travel through my body. I thought I had gotten used to them by now, since they had started in the morning, but this one, Merlin it hurt! It, then, dawned on me. She was dying, and it felt like I would follow, hot on her heels. It made no sense, though. Why would her being ill affect me so? Why was she in such a bad shape to begin with? She was supposed to be safe!

"What happened?" I asked through gritted teeth, pushing the pain aside.

"I don't know," Remus, Moony Remy, moaned.

"I do," Sirius, my dad, sighed, approaching her bed with me still in his arms.

I was grateful. I couldn't even get out of my bed earlier. I doubted I would have been able to drag myself to her side. I felt myself grow even heavier as I examined her immobile form. I could see the beads of sweat clinging onto her skin. Her red mud-tinted hair made her look even sicklier in my mind. She wasn't supposed to look like that.

Her hair was supposed to be the purest most vibrant shade of red. It was supposed to be in crazy, beautiful, bouncing curls. Her cheeks were supposed to be flushed pink, not sunken and pale. She was mine. I couldn't lose her… aaand the coin dropped. I closed my eyes, it made sense.

"She's been poisoned," I heard myself say.

My illness, the memories, why I couldn't fall for anyone else no matter how hard I tried, why I had been bewitched to push her away, it all made sense. She was mine and I was hers. We were two halves of a whole, as cheesy and generic as it sounded. We were irrevocably connected, even if that connection hadn't been completed or ever initiated, not really, not yet

"Yes," my dad, Sirius, replied calmly, even though it hadn't been a question.

How could he be so sodding calm? My other half was dying and he wasn't even freaking out! I could feel my temper rising. What the hell were they here for? We should be taking her to St. Mungo's. We should be doing som-

I felt myself calm as he laid me down beside her. I wanted to pull her into me, remove all distance between us, but I wasn't about to do that. Mia would never forgive me if I spooned her in front of them.

"Sirius, I've been patient, enough. How the hell are you planning to save my Princess," Moony Remy growled, his eyes flashing amber, his form exuding rage.

"Excuse me, she is mine. Thank you very much," I sniffed.

Well, at least someone that can actually rip him a new one is taking care of this issue for me. I was just as frustrated and impatient as he was, but I couldn't lash out against my dad, now could I? My eyes shifted to Hermione. If I couldn't hold her, the least I could do was not take my eyes off of her.

"We can't take her to Mungo's. Any more potions will only kill her faster," my dad, er Sirius, said through gritted teeth, his anger lashing out as well. Guess I know who I got my temper from, I thought wryly.

"Kill her faster?!" Papa Tommy roared. Maybe not, I smiled ruefully.

"Tom, listen to me. I-I remembered something someone told James and me once… Draco and Hermione, she couldn't say what they were, but she had said we had to be careful because this could happen… She said they were stronger together."

Sod it, I thought. If this was going to be the end, then we were going to meet our end together and in each other's' arms. I pulled her against me. Everybody could just go away. She was mine and she was staying in my arms if they weren't going to do anything to save her, to save us.

-O-

Narrator's POV

It had been hours, two hours, and Moony was getting frustrated. She was his to protect, he couldn't do anything, and having Draco holding her had stagnated her deteriorating health, but after the first hour and not sensing any more improvement was killing him. He couldn't pace any longer. The tension in the room was killing his werewolf nose. He had had enough of this.

"Take off her clothes," he growled. If the proximity had made it stop, then contact would make her better.

The air seemed to have been sucked out of the room when he uttered that sentence. Not one of the other men thought about the why, their thoughts were revolving around a livid Hermione when she woke up and knew that they had seen her starkers, even if it had been for just a second. Yeah, no. Two of the three may be grown wizards, but all three of them knew Hermione was one scary witch.

"What?" Draco finally strangled out.

"You stopped it from spreading more by being close to her. She should get better with skin contact, and the more the better," Remus replied calmly, but his amber eyes betrayed him. They were the proof of his desperation and worry.

"Have you gone mad? The lass would kill us," Tom shivered.

"She'd probably burn us all to crisp if we saw her nude. Well, maybe not Dragon, but we'd be fried before we could beg her to spare us."

"She doesn't have to be naked you dolt," Remus growled. "You strip," he ordered Draco.

He pointed his wand at Hermione and levitated her slightly, as he drew the covers of the bed. He slowly lowered her on the bed, making sure not to hurt her. He glared at Sirius and Tom. They gulped, quickly turning around. He quickly vanished her outer clothing and pulled the covers over her in a flurry. Once stripped down to his boxers, Draco eyed the bed warily. The thought of snuggling into Hermione with them in there had been awkward enough when they were both fully dressed, now he was a jumbled mess. How was he supposed to lay with her so intimately with them just there, staring?

"Don't take this the wrong way but I can't do this having my-" Draco cut himself off realizing that they might, and most probably didn't, know that they had been family, well are family. "Well you in the room," he amended looking at Sirius and Tom before turning to Remus. If any of them remembered, it'd be Remus. "Princess will be safe with me. I won't hurt her."

It dawned on them then. Draco knew. Remus, at least had the decency to blush. Sirius, on the other hand smirked and looked as if he were about to make a teasing, lecherous remark, but before he could say anything, Remus was already dragging him out.

"You should get some sleep. Oh, and I'd recommend holding her, at least that way if she wakes up, the first thing she'll process is that she's being held and not that she's… well yes," Tom trailed off awkwardly, and hurried to the door.

Draco nodded absentmindedly as he stared at the unconscious girl on the bed. How she managed to look like an angel when just little less than an hour ago she was on the brink of death, he did not know. She, he decided, looked like an angel because that's exactly what she was. Despite everything, she was still very much like the Hermione he had grown up with, his Mia. She had remained kind and pure of heart. She still helped everyone who needed it, and he loved her for it.

Yes, he loved her, and he wasn't afraid to admit it. How could he deny it? How could anyone not love her? She was beautiful, considerate of others, and wickedly brilliant, but what he loved the most about her was her fire, her temper, her strength and her wits. He had always loved her, just as she had always loved him.

With those thoughts, he slipped under the covers and arranged them on the bed so that her back was pressed against his chest. The fear of losing her or never seeing her wake up dissipated entirely at the feel of her bare skin against his. He nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck, and pressing a tender kiss at her pulse point, he succumbed to the hands of sleep, knowing that she would be well again soon.

A/N Hello again!

As I said, a lot of overlay, I know. I hope you all liked it anyways.

Anywho please review. You all have no idea how much reviews mean to a writer, so please please leave a review. Even if it's just a happy face or a "good chapter", or a "meh" or a "could be better, but it's still alright"


	14. On the Way to Recovery

**A/N Disclaimer: Alright, as you all know, I do not own anything but the plot of this fanfiction. JK Rowling own's the Harry Potter world and characters.**

**Narrator's POV**

Draco was brusquely yanked out from the most peaceful and content slumber of his life by a yelling body squirming violently against him.

"NO! I don't care! I don't care if they don't want me, if they don't love me, I'll _never_ be yours! You can't keep me," she cried struggling to break free of my arms.

It was then Draco noticed she was hot (not like that… well she is but, _anyways…). _She was sweltering. He had been worried because she had been too cold, before, and now, he was worried because she was so hot. She was most definitely running a high fever, and he didn't have a clue as to how long she had been. He didn't know how much time had gone by and what was worse; he couldn't do anything about it. They couldn't give her any potions just in case it reacted with whatever had poisoned her before. He felt so useless. The only thing he could do was hold her, and hope it would pass quickly.

"I don't care if he hates me. I can't- I won't leave him. I won't leave any of them," she argued stubbornly. Merlin, even when she was under a fever-induced dream/hallucination she was stubborn.

"No! Let go of me!" she sobbed, throwing herself forward. If it hadn't been for my arms holding her in place, she would have rocketed off the bed.

"Mia, love, calm down. You're here with me. Shh, it's alright," Draco cooed into her ear, relaxing his hold on her.

…..

What to Draco was a fever-induced hallucination was a terrible nightmare for Hermione, a terrible nightmare that was not too far from reality, even if she didn't know it just yet.

"I think I'll keep you here, pet," his disgusting, greasy voice purred. It sent shivers down her spine. _Danger_, her mind and soul screamed.

"NO!" she yelled, terrified at the thought of staying with that man, the man her instincts recognized as the one who had been there that night with the "_bad man_."

"They don't love you. They don't want you. You're mine now, you always were," he sneered silkily. I couldn't see the man's face. He wore black robes, but that was all she knew. She tried to see the man's face, but all she could see were the man's black robes and his black hair, greasy black hair at that.

"I don't care if they don't want me, if they don't love me, I'll _never_ be yours!" she cried out.

Run, leave, her mind screamed, but she couldn't. His hold was strong, too strong, and she was too tired to even attempt to burn him off of herself, not without possibly burning myself in the process. She couldn't use his own against him. This man had no fire in him. There was no earth here, no plants, she couldn't ask them to pull him off her or incapacitate him.

"You're mine, little fire flower. I'm keeping you."

"You can't keep me," she cried struggling to break free of his clutches.

"He hates you. Why go back? Stay here, leave him, leave them," he purred into her ear, his breath ghosting across her skin.

Adrenaline coursed through her veins. Fear struck her heart. For the first time in her life, she felt like prey, like she was completely and absolutely vulnerable, while a dangerous, powerful predator prowled circles around her, waiting to pounce.

"I don't care if he hates me. I can't- I won't leave him. I won't leave any of them," she argued firmly, her voice unwavering.

She wasn't going to let him see how weak she felt, however, she had been vulnerable before, after all, and the only difference now was that she didn't have her magic to help her, but she still had hands and feet. She'd go kicking and clawing before she succumbed to him.

"That won't do pet. That just won't do my little fire flower," he hissed, gruffly pulling her against him. She could feel his nose running against the bare skin of her neck, working its way to her cheek towards her mouth.

"No! Let go of me!" she sobbed, throwing herself forward, trying to get far enough to either escape or gain some leverage and inflict some damage. She felt the arms holding her tightly loosen.

"Mia, love, calm down. You're here with me. Shh, it's alright," she heard _his _voice coo. She knew it was true. If _he _was there, everything would be alright. The man that had tried to take her was gone. All was well. She could rest now. She had to be strong for him, for them all.

…..

Draco felt her muscles relax, her body melting into his, her every curve fitting perfectly into him. The discomfort he had sensed on such different levels since early this morning faded into oblivion as her breathing evened and her body temperature returned to normal. It was out. She was safe. He was just drifting off when they all came in. He suppressed a groan, not wanting to disturb his Mia.

"Ah, I see the slumbering dragon has finally awoken," Sirius said regally, not having the same qualms as his son.

"Keep it down, will ya?" Draco hissed glaring at his father as he was trying to suppress a smile. He had never had a happy, cheery paternal figure in his life, well not recently… It was nice, even if it ensured embarrassment and blushes more often than not. "If you wake up Princess Mia I may just breathe fire," he joked, while mock scowling at the trio of men who had just walked in.

Draco fought hard to not chuckle when he saw Remus face palm as he sighed dejectedly, "the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree. What is it with the Black family and name puns?"

"How is she?" Tom asked ignoring Remus's comment. He was too worried about the lass he saw as a granddaughter.

"Whatever it was, gave her very vivid nightmares, but it's out of her system now. She's just resting," Draco replied with a soft smile.

"How are you, Lad?" he asked worriedly.

Tom was surprised by how quickly he had taken to both of them. Hermione had been easy enough to explain. He was lonely and she was alone. It was bound to happen, but Draco was harder to explain. It was hard to logically explain that pull and need to be with him, since it was the same pull he had felt towards Hermione since the first time he had met her.

"Just spiffy," Draco chuckled, causing Hermione to wiggle into his side even more.

The room grew silent, not wanting to wake Hermione. That girl needed her rest, they knew. After all, being poisoned, nearly dying, and running a fever for heavens knows how long had to be exhausting. They all took leave once more, not wanting to make either teen uncomfortable with their presence, even if one of the two wasn't aware of the fact at the moment.

Besides, it was a good way to avoid the giant squid in the room. They needed Hermione to know how they should approach that. Merlin, this is bad, they all though. They couldn't do anything without out her telling them exactly how they should do it or how they should go about things.

-O-

**Hermione POV**

"Note to self, never do that again. Exploiting magic when bound and potion-intoxicated, no bueno," I told myself wryly.

"And that's how you know she's fine," Moony Remy snickered.

_"Oops, said that out loud. Whatever, we need to talk about it anyway," _I thought placidly.

I felt strangely content. I couldn't remember the last time I felt so warm and light. I fluttered my eyes open. The room was dimly lit by the single candle by Moony Remy, who appeared to have been reading, while Papa Tommy and Uncle Siri seemed quite engaged in a game of wizard's chess. I felt my lips quirk at the homey scene. Much to my surprise, a snide _"old geezers"_ passed through my still befuddled mind.

What was wrong with me? That thought was rude and totally uncalled for. I would _never _normally think that. It was just like the mean thoughts I had when I had been trying to warn Sirius about Harry. Back then, I had the excuse of being overdosed, in pain, unable to speak, and desperate, but now what was happening? I was witty and occasionally sarcastic (_that_ may be a bit of an understatement) but I wasn't _rude_!

I felt something, well someone, pull me against them. Now, I knew why I had woken up so blissfully content. I smiled softly, feeling him holding onto my waist tighter. I could definitely get used to this.

_"Stop overthinking it,"_ I heard my dragon grumble.

"That's like asking me not to breathe," I giggled, wiggling into him further.

"What?" Uncle Siri asked, looking at me as if I had gone mad.

"Not overthinking things," I replied slowly, as if he were dense.

"Angel, oh so great one, are you okay?" Uncle Siri asked cautiously.

I glared at him with as much force as I could muster. It wasn't much but still. _How dare he?!_ I thought angrily. I was not crazy!

"No, you're not," Draco hummed. "Well, maybe a little," he chuckled, pressing a kiss to my head.

"I think they've gone mental," Uncle Siri stage whispered to Moony Remy who seemed annoyed at being pulled out of his book by Uncle Siri's antics.

"It's not _our_ fault you seem to be going deaf," I quipped. "Now, go away. I wanna sleep," I grumbled, turning my back on them to face Draco.

It was then I noticed that we were both just in our underwear, but, honestly, I didn't care. I was too tired and it felt too good to be upset. I was still too drained to throw a fit. Besides, the view was not bad, not bad at all. It was too bad that I couldn't give him such a nice view, not that he'd actually looked. I knew he had preserved my modesty. He wouldn't do anything I didn't want, or could possibly be upset about. Smiling, I snuggled my face into his chest as my arms wrapped around his waist. We both let out a contented sigh at the new position.

_"Perfect" _I thought.

"It is," Draco agreed contentedly. Wait, I had not said anything. I'm lucid enough now to _know_ I didn't say that out loud.

"Dragon," I squeaked, feeling my anxiety starting to make a vengeful appearance.

"Mia?" he questioned.

"I didn't say anything, before I mean."

"Yes you did. I heard you. You said 'perfect,'" he replied confused.

"No, I _thought_ it," I countered.

_"What?" _I heard, but his mouth hadn't moved.

_"I know you heard me. I'm not going to repeat myself," _I thought back, thoroughly enjoying the look on his face as it dawned on him.

_"This is some freaky shit," _he exclaimed in his thoughts.

_"Draco!" _I admonished. _"Wait, so _you _were the one who thought 'old geezers'?"_

"Yep," he replied laughing out loud, "I mean look at them." I tried to scowl at him, but I knew it wouldn't last long. I could already feel the corners of my lips tugging upwards, so I settled for a glare.

_"'Be nice, he's your daddy,' I know," _he thought-grumbled, before chuckling.

"You know?" I asked softly, afraid of how he'd react.

I knew it was ridiculous, I really did, but I couldn't help it. I knew that if he was holding me now, he wasn't going to and hadn't reacted badly, but I couldn't help but think 'what if he hates me?' I may have just remembered everything but I had known since the beginning. I had been certain since he had told me his birth date.

"Stop thinking so much," he whispered tenderly before pressing a sweet lingering kiss to my forehead. "I could never hate you Mia."

"Bu-"

"Mine," he interrupted, his mercury eyes searing into mine.

"Always," I breathed. I buried myself into the crook of his neck not forcing my erratic heart to slow a bit. I was already lightheaded enough. "Thank you," I mumbled, pressing a quick kiss to his neck before settling comfortably in his arms.

We lay contentedly, his thumb drawing lazy circles on the skin of my waist, for a few minutes before three sets of uncomfortable coughs pulled us out of our reverie. I sighed heavily, slightly annoyed.

"Dragon, didn't I tell them to go away?"

"I believe you did Mia," he chuckled, smiling beautifully. I was trying to keep a serious face, but I couldn't help but smile. I loved it when he smiled. He looked so happy and free, and I adored it.

"Then why aren't they gone," I asked childishly, pouting.

"Too stubborn?" he suggested amused.

"No, I think they're a bit _cold_," I mused. "Maybe I should warm them up?"

"That's just cruel, oh so great one," Uncle Siri remarked.

"And yet you're still here," I deadpanned.

"Princess, you wouldn't, would you?" Moony Remy asked uneasily.

"I just might if I'm not given one hour of peace to rest," I replied sweetly.

Uncle Siri and Moony Remy's faces paled as their eyes widened. They ran out of the room as if the Morgana and Mordred themselves were after them, dragging Papa Tommy out with them. Draco burst out laughing the second they slammed the door shut.

"That was very Slytherin of you, Mia."

"Shut up and let me sleep," I grumbled pressing a kiss to his chest.

"I love you Mia," I heard him breathe as I fell into my dreamland, which for the first time wasn't far off reality.

-O-

**Draco's POV**

True to her requests, they returned to the room an hour later. I was immediately apprehensive of the mischievous glint in my dad's eyes and the cautious yet excited glint in Moony Remy's. They had planned something, and it definitely didn't seem likely to get a good reaction from Hermione. She may have exhausted her magic earlier, but she still had her temper, and was extremely grumpy when tired. I mentally nudged her, hoping she'd wake up soon. She stirred slightly but remained asleep. I nudged her a bit more forcefully when I saw that my dad had his hands behind his back. I felt her awaken even though she didn't stir or open her eyes.

_"Show me,"_ she asked softly.

_"What are you planning?"_ I asked amused, as I showed her how he was tiptoeing toward us, and how Moony Remy took a rigid attention stance behind him, wand at the ready.

_"You'll see… just don't… well pretend I'm still asleep and remain impassive,"_ she replied. I could feel the anxious anticipation behind the thought.

_"I can't wait, Mia,"_ I answered, putting as much excitement and comfort I could behind my thought.

Suddenly, I felt her seeing through my eyes. I could feel her eyes glowing gold in my mind. I thought I saw my dad and Moony Remy have some kind of redish-gold glow flowing through them, but as soon as it appeared it was gone. My dad went to take another step but he couldn't. After a couple of well-aimed finites, he gave up.

I wanted to smirk at the frustrated face my dad now featured, but I knew there was more coming, from both fronts. I received confirmation as Moony Remy aimed his wand at my dad's back. A pitcher half-filled with ice hovered in front of my dad. He took out his wand and filled it to the very top with water.

_"That's just cold," _I thought to Mia.

_"Yep, is my lily still at the windowsill?"_

_"Yes…" _I replied my eyes glued to the pitcher full of freezing cold water. If my dad was successful we'd both end up soaked and freezing and unable to move out of the wet sheets because of our state of undress.

I felt her cut off our mental conversation, but I could feel her coaxing and encouraging. I wasn't sure what she was doing, but Moony Remy's surprised gasp followed by a thud meant it had worked, I was sure. I took in the scene as a whole, tearing my eyes away from the pitcher, just in time to see how an enlarged leaf attached to her lily withdrew from Moony Remy's form on the floor and rocketed towards my dad's legs.

It seems that all he had to do to free himself was tug hard because the leaf ended up flipping him onto his back. In an effort to stay upright, he grabbed at the pitcher, causing him to pour it onto himself.

_"Thank you dear lily. I am eternally grateful. You may return to you true form," _I heard Mia sing.

_"Why are you singing?"_

_"It shows my gratitude. It shows I value my connection to them even if '_they are mine to control'_" _I could feel the quotation marks she added around those last words.

_"What about the fire?" _I asked curious.

_"Oh… fire isn't sentient. It doesn't _have_ feelings. It _is_ emotions. It requires sight and force, not tenderness and coaxing…"_

_"I never thought about fire like that…"_

"That's just cruel. You're supposed to be on my side," my dad pouted, standing. I saw him fighting the urge to shake the water off of himself. I felt Hermione smirk against the skin of my chest. So much for impassive, I thought.

"Can you believe it, Moony? My own son!" he exclaimed.

I felt giddy at the word, son. _Son_, it was so foreign, yet warm and beautiful. I really, really liked the sound of it. It felt so good to be acknowledged as his son. He knew, and he accepted me! It felt so _liberating!_

"Well you deserved it. What you wanted to do to poor little old me was just _cold, _but you know all about that now, don't you?" Mia said sweetly, successfully interrupting the tantrum I'm sure my dad was about to throw.

"Y-you?" he spluttered glowering at her back.

"Daughter of Prongs, who happens to have brains and a couple of aces up her sleeve, prank before being pranked into consciousness, no!" she scoffed sarcastically, turning to face him.

"But you're core is completely exhausted, or at least it should be!" Moony Remy exclaimed. His 'it's not fair' went unsaid but was understood all the same.

"I didn't use magic," she drawled, smiling devilishly. "Now, would you two sorry excuses for pranksters please leave so Dragon and I can change?" she asked smiling widely. At their hesitance she sighed and said "we have lots to talk about, and I don't fancy being in my undergarments during our discussion."

I saw them exchange an awkward look before bolting out of the room again. It's weird seeing and thinking about how much Mia affects them, well all of us really. She lights us up and makes our inner child come out. She makes us feel at home, safe, loved, happy, and free.

"You change first," she prompted, pulling me out of my thoughts. Wait, change? Dear Merlin, how was I supposed to be a gentleman and keep my eyes to myself when she put us in situations like this? Didn't she know the effect she had on me? Didn't she know how great of a temptation she is?

-O-

**Hermione's POV**

"Dragon, relax. I'm not the one who breathes fire," I joked, trying to get him to relax. Why was he freaking out?

"No, you just control it," he chuckled, carefully getting out of bed.

"I prefer the word manipulate, thank you. Control just sounds so… blunt and aggressive." He raised an eyebrow as he pulled on his slacks.

"Hey, it may require force, but it still requires subtlety," I defended.

"Yes, I'm sure few can appreciate the subtle and exact art that is pyro-kinesis," Draco drawled, imitating Snape from our first year.

"Well, it's _true_," I quipped. He rolled his eyes, amused by my childish antics as he buttoned the last buttons of his shirt.

_"And there goes my view," _I thought-sighed.

"Um, I'm all set…should I… er…I'll step out," Draco stuttered awkwardly, his hand ruffling his silvery-gray hair. Wait, when had that happened? Focus, it's food for thought.

"Um, actually, I need your help," I murmured shyly. I felt extremely weak, now that he wasn't with me. I could definitely feel the effect of the poisoning and my exhausted core now.

"What?" he sounded strangled. He was making me repeat myself?

"I need your help," I ground out. This was beyond humiliating, even if it was him.

"Oh," he said stupidly.

Oh, was right. Now, I knew why he tensed and started freaking out. Was I that ugly to look at? I knew I was underfed, and as a result was too bony, but still. It wasn't like I was asking him to ogle me and find me miraculously attractive. I wasn't asking him to revere my body and drown me in compliments.

"You know what forget it," I snapped, "just bring them-"

"I'm sorry, that was inconsiderate of me," he apologized.

Why the hell was he apologizing? He wasn't at fault for not wanting to look at me. He liked my personality and found it attractive. He didn't find Hermione _Granger_, the wrapper attractive, and that was okay. He didn't have to apologize. He didn't need to give me his pity. It only made it that much more humiliating.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked softly.

I didn't need his damn pity! I didn't need pity, not from him, not from anybody. How the hell was I supposed to avoid self-pity when I saw it in the eyes of everybody else?

"It would be best if you'd make my shirt bigger, like a night shirt," I replied awkwardly.

I tried to turn on my side to make it easier to get up, but it came out as an awkward spasm. Shit, how the hell was I supposed to get it on if I could barely even fidget on the bed! I doubted I'd be able to stand on my own for more than a second. It's worth a try. If worse comes to worse, I'll stay in bed in my undies and have them think I'm fully dressed.

"Alright, now what?"

"Help me sit up, please."

I stared at the hand he held out in front of me to take. He had angled his body away from me, so he couldn't see me at all. I sucked in a quick breath and braced myself for the pain from the strain that was to come. With much effort, I positioned my arm uncomfortably at my side to push myself up. I tensed my muscles and pushed as hard as I could, biting on my lip, trying to suppress the urge to whimper in pain. I couldn't do it. I couldn't sodding do it, and he couldn't even look at me. Gods, I was pathetic.

After five failed attempts, I felt my eyes well up with tears. Pathetic was an utter understatement. I could see that Draco was still looking pointedly away. A frustrated sob ripped out of my constricted throat before I could stop it. Damn it! It was like a dam broke with that one sob. I couldn't stop. My lungs spasmed painfully, wracking my aching body. My muscles weren't ready for this. Gods, it hurt _so_ _bad_. Through my tears, I saw his head whip around to stare at me in shock. Bloody jerk, couldn't he just leave me and let me choke on my damn tears?

"Love, Mia, I'm sorry. I didn't know," he murmured. Didn't know I was ugly as well as pathetic too? Well, obviously, pathetic people tend to not want others to know how pathetic they are.

"You weren't supposed to," I hiccupped, trying to get my lungs to stop their sporadic movement.

He conjured a tissue and wiped the tears off my face. A few more tears sprang to my cheeks, which he brushed away with his thumb. Why was he so sweet? Didn't he know that that only made it hurt more?

"Just forget it, alright," I muttered, wanting the torture to be over.

He was so perfect and I was so… well _me_. He could do so much better, but he was stuck with me. I was scarred. I was wary of the world. He was a sentient being and I had learned to close off my emotions and become just about an automaton. He was stuck with the shadow of what I used to be, even if we were just two toddlers back then.

"No can do, Mia. I transfigured a smashing dress for you and you are going to wear it. Now, do I have your explicit permission to look at and touch the magnificent perfection that is you? I promise to keep it innocent, yes?"

_"That shouldn't be too hard," _I thought bitterly.

"Okay," I nodded.

"Okay," he smiled sweetly.

He proceeded to dress me, careful to not jostle me in the least. His touches made me shiver. They were light, innocent brushes but he did it with such reverence. He looked at me with so much love and adoration, it made my heart swell. I didn't feel aesthetically impaired with my too skinny body and too conspicuous ribs (for my taste, well anyone's really).

_"Godric damn it all! Why are you so sweet dragon? You make it hard to not cave and leave myself vulnerable. You make it hard to not hate myself for closing myself off in the first place."_

"You're so beautiful, Mia," he breathed as he buttoned the last button of the dress he had transfigured for me.

"Can you put me on top of the covers, please?" I asked softly.

"What if you get cold?"

"I won't. It'll make them worry less and make me feel less...physically impaired."

"I think you just want my arms around you again," he replied cheekily with a boyish grin that made me blush. "But who am I to deny a beautiful lady something her heart so desires?"

"I don't know Draco Black but leaving a girl in a state of limbo is not proper, not proper at all," I replied, my smile widening at the joyous glint in his eyes.

"And we can't have that, now can we? After all only a proper gentleman will do for our Gryffindor princess," he said taking his wand in hand, before scooping me into his arms. With a handy household spell, the bed made itself and he gently set me on top of it.

"Now, should we call them in?" he asked. Suddenly, I became very aware of two glowing, available fire sources.

"No need, they're waiting outside. I think Padfoot was eavesdropping on us too, considering..."

"Considering what?" Uncle Siri asked, strolling into the room as if I hadn't just called him out on eavesdropping.

I should have noticed them earlier. I really should have. Now that I had accepted my 'talents' and the bind on my magic started to weaken slightly with my newfound memory, I could sense the fire in people and approximate their size and distance from me.

"Considering I could pick up the wet dog smell from here," I jibed.

"Hardy har har, Angel, oh so great one," he deadpanned.

I saw Moony Remy prowl into the room, glaring murderously at Draco. This couldn't be good. Moony Remy had always been fiercely protective of me.

"You said she'd be safe," he growled.

"Moony Remy," I called softly.

He threw another glare at Draco before giving me his full attention. He discreetly sniffed me to make sure I was unharmed, causing me to smile.

"We really need to work on your temper Moony Remy," I sighed contentedly as he nuzzled his cheek against mine and pressed a kiss to my forehead. He made me feel nearly as safe as my Dragon.

"Why were you crying?" he asked softly.

"I couldn't get up by myself and..." I trailed off.

"And what?" Uncle Siri asked curiously.

"And I felt useless," I finished quickly. It wasn't a lie, but I wasn't going to tell them that I felt... inadequate and unworthy and guilty and weak and damaged beyond repair. The others accepted this, but Draco gave me a look that made it clear that we would be discussing it later. I sighed, knowing that he was probably sensing my… _negativity_.

"Tom is downstairs, I suppose," I said getting us back on track. We needed to get this done soon. I could feel I only had about an hour of consciousness left in me.

"Yes, we thought it'd be easier…"

"Very well, now, that we all remember. We know exactly who did this, so we just need to find out why."

"Mia, I don't mean to interrupt but right now I'm more concerned with who poisoned you?"

"Molly Weasley," Uncle Siri, Moony Remy and I growled in unison.

"You knew?" we exclaimed all at once (again).

"I figured it out, how did you two know?" I asked.

"Moony Remy overheard Dumbledork and Molly talking and he told me," Uncle Siri replied. "We were supposed to warn you but you just _had_ to be up at that ungodly hour."

"Force of habit," I shrugged. Their faces immediately got murderously dark, but I decided it would be best if I just ignored that little tid bit. "Anyways, she got me with a love potion keyed to the most idiotic of her children a-"

"Three actually," Moony Remy interrupted.

"What?"

"You had at least three love potions in your system not to mention the flushing potion we made you drink to yeah..."

"You could have killed her! A simple flushing potion doesn't flush out a love potion! The ingredients can react and make an even stronger love potion!" Dragon exploded.

"Well we didn't think it through,"

"That much is obvious," he muttered bitterly.

"We are not wasting time arguing," I snapped. "It happened. It's done, alright? Now, Harry's treacle tart was keyed to Weasley gold digger Jr," I snapped.

"Now, let's talk about the important things. I'm not sure if Papa Tommy still has his memory from before. Draco and I have ours because of our magic. Moony Remy has his because he's him. Uncle Siri you have yours because of your impressive mental defenses. Tom doesn't have any defenses, and that's where we reach the crux of the issue. Dumbledore most probably knew this so there's a chance that he did not bother with trying to erase his memories," I paused, letting them soak up the information.

"He tried to erase ours because he knew we'd break through any containment he tried the second we saw each other. Tom however wouldn't be able to do that. We need to talk to him… tomorrow. I'll take care of it tomorrow. I don't trust any of you to have the tact. Anyways, from what Tom told me, Marlene was with him that day. I know Moony Remy was away that night and Dragon you were with Uncle Siri. I know that Dumbledore didn't take care of her... I have a theory but I'm not sure," I trailed off biting my lip.

It would make sense, but there was no way to be sure, of course. I had no proof on this one. I was going off of logic, Dumbledore reasoning, and the few facts I had. It _was_ optimistic, but it was realistic as well. It wasn't _just_ hopeful thinking.

"Just say it, Angel, oh so great one."

"Your guess is probably better than anything we could come up with," Moony Remy interceded.

"Well, I _think_ that Dumbledore _most likely_ sent someone else to take care of Aunty Marly, _but_ he wouldn't trust any idiot outside of himself to manipulate memories so... if I were to consider myself as a master manipulator, in control of everything, and much more clever than everybody else… I would get that person to lie and place a strong compulsion charm on her that keeps her away... Now _knowing_ that family is the most important thing, nothing would have been able to keep her away, so she had to have been led to think that she had nothing to return to," I said thinking through it once more, as I said it.

It made sense. Terrifyingly enough it did. Sometimes, I scared myself. I could cause so much pain and trouble if I used my abilities without care, for my own selfish ends. Was this what Dumbledore and Voldemort were like when they were young? Did the power of such intellectual prowess corrupt them so?

"But she would have heard about me," Uncle Siri argued.

"When you escaped, yes. Before, no," I replied.

"Then why isn't she here? It's been a year?" Dragon asked skeptically.

"Compulsion charms designed to keep you away from _places_ only get stronger with time…She would only know that Uncle Siri's alive, but she would still believe that her child and father were murdered, and that Uncle Siri is not the man she fell in love with. She _may _believe that he has not betrayed her sister, but she doesn't know that he's not a murderer, _but_ that can and will be remedied once we clear his name," I explained.

The more I explained it, the more obvious it became. It was perfect. It was a back-up plan. If we ever figured it out, Dumbles could still use her as a way to keep us under his belt. Aunty Marly would have been our vulnerability because he would never have thought that we would be able to figure it out and get her back to us safely, without his help. He would play grand savior once more, and we would be forever in his debt, left to accept that his actions were for _his_, sorry, _the_ greater good.

"How can you know that mum will hear about it?" Draco asked nervously.

_"Oh that won't be too hard,"_ I thought smirking.

"I can make it be international news," I replied smugly.

"How?" he asked flabbergasted

"Connections," I smirked.

"Who?" he prodded perplexed.

"I'm still corresponding with Victor and Fleur. Besides, if they're invited to say a New Year's ball at McKinnon manor, whose guests of honor will be the nearly redeemed Sirius Black and his newly recovered son, and I ask them as a favor to_ let it slip_, she'll gain news of her father, son and husband being well and alive _all in one_."

"Princess, what about here in Britain? I'm sure the ministry will try to hush it up," Moony Remy questioned.

"Not if Carina McKinnon lets it slip that the minister could make it seem as a way of rectifying the mistakes of the previous ministry. It would also help if Miss Amelia Bones was made aware of this take on things…"

"But?" Draco asked as I trailed off.

"But if that doesn't work, I'm certain that dung beetle Rita Skeeter will have no problems doing what I tell her. I can be _quite persuasive_ after all," I smirked evilly.

It was funny how her animagus form suited her so well. Ah the irony! She wrote so much utter shit, her being a dung beetle just made sense. In retrospective, Uncle Siri and the rat made sense. The rat was just that a filthy rat, and Uncle Siri was as playful, fierce, protective, and loyal as a dog.

"That was so hot," Dragon breathed making me blush brightly. "Have I ever told you how much I love it when you go total evil genius?"

"No, I don't believe so," I giggled. I couldn't believe it, I giggled!

"How do you, oh so great one, come up with this, that's what I would like to know," Uncle Siri humphed.

"It's not like it was on the spot," I defended, not really knowing why I was getting defensive.

Maybe it was the path my own thoughts had been leading to and Dragon's evil genius comment. I didn't want my mind to corrupt me. Then again, I was already reading dark-ish books. I hadn't changed at all. The knowledge hadn't gone to my head. I have not and am not in search of power, nor do I want to impose it on anyone. Maybe I wasn't like them even if I was like them.

"Princess, I know for a fact you weren't scheming as you were...ill. At most you've been scheming for an hour."

"Mia, just admit it. You're brilliant brain works faster than that of us mere mortals."

"You do know you are implying I'm a goddess, right?" I smirked, trying not to blush.

It wasn't fair. I was the only one blushing here; it was his turn. He smiled crookedly at me, not a single hint of blush on his cheeks. Damn!

"Sorry getting off of track, anyway... Hair, right." I reminded myself. "Dragon, you need a glamour charm. I'd ask Poppy if I were you. Oh, and we might get Sirius cleared before time. Harry has a trial Friday, and Carina will be making her grand entrance Tuesday, so she'll be having quite a bit of fun Friday," I continued quickly, not giving them much time in between topics to process everything I was saying. Oh well, they were going to have to learn to keep up. Now I had to let it sink in… wait for it, wait for it.

Dragon jumped up and ran to the mirror in my restroom. He let out an undignified yelp that made me roll my eyes. Honestly, what was it with Black men and their hair? **(Okay, that sounds bad, but I swear it isn't meant to be offensive or anything. It's their last name, so yeah…)**

"I've been wondering the same thing for years," Moony Remy smirked.

_"Guess I said it out loud. Oh, well."_

"Guess it's a genetic malady then," I shrugged.

"You are wicked, oh so great one," uncle Siri barked.

"I know I'm great, but it's very kind of you to admit and verbalize my greatness," I beamed.

Dear Merlin, what was happening to me? It felt nice, but feeling like this was dangerous. It could get torn away from me, and where would that leave me? I didn't know where it would leave me, but I definitely knew how. I would leave me irreparably broken. It would destroy me in every single way possible.

_"Snap out of it Hermione. None of this. You'll have time to let go once it's all over."_

"Anyways, the plan is to make them think I'm on the ministry's side, but I should be able to handle the situation and have Harry cleared, and they will know Voldemort is back and, at least, start thinking about maybe running ministry inquiries," I said confidently.

"You're so evil," Uncle Siri smirked gleefully.

"I am not evil. I just have a capability of doing devious things for the benefit of those I love, now shut it. I need to get this out before I fall asleep again."

"Moony Remy, Uncle Siri and I will work on Harry. We'll take turns and make it several short lessons a day so that we can get him up to speed as soon as possible. We need to make it safe to tell them as soon as possible, so tomorrow I'll find out if Tom has a chance of having his memories. If I find that he does... Dragon, you're going to have to help me. You'll have to come here daily and work on Occlumency with Papa Tommy first. Once his mind is safe, you're going to have to go into his mind and find and free his memories, alright?"

"Wait, what?" he spluttered.

"You're going to have quality time/training sessions with Papa Tommy after I talk to him tomorrow. Then if he has them and once you think he's ready you're going in," I explained calmly.

"Why me?"

"Because I know you can do it and you're the only one that will be able to do it."

"Alright," he said shakily.

"And don't worry. We'll all be together come Christmas," I smiled.

"I'm holding you to that," he replied with a flirtatious wink.

"Ah the beauty of Christmas. The warmth of family, _mistletoe_, presents, pranks, and _mistletoe_," Sirius said dreamily.

"Dad," Dragon whined. My heart sank a bit. He didn't want to kiss me. "It was supposed to be a surprise. You know unknowingly lure her under a mistletoe and then proceed snog her senseless," he pouted.

_"I really need to work on my self-confidence... Guess I couldn't go through all that without some kind of scar. I didn't get many physical ones so of course I'd have a plethora of psychological and emotional scars. Pathetic really," _I thought bitterly.

He _did _want to kiss me. I felt elated by the revelation. I would have to hold off on the kiss though. At least until I researched exactly what effect it would have on this connection we share. I felt myself grow even more annoyed by the whole situation we found ourselves in. Why couldn't I be normal?The hurt look Draco sent me told me he sensed my annoyance but didn't know what I was thinking. I guess the whole telepathy thing only worked when we were touching. Good, but not good. Now, he thought I was annoyed by the idea.

"I'm holding you to that," I smirked.

"But it won't be a surprise anymore," he pouted.

_"Oh the torture! His lips look so kissable when he pouts! It's not fair!"_

"I'm sure you'll find a way," I smiled weakly, feeling the full draining effects of all the talking. He took my hand, and his face immediates paled.

"Mia, why didn't you say something?" Dragon groaned.

"You weren't supposed to know," I smiled tiredly.

"Ten more minutes?" Uncle Siri asked.

"Yeah," I sighed, pulling my hand away from Draco. "What else is there...Right, Uncle Siri did you ever become emancipated?"

"Uh, no… I was burnt off the family tree," he replied slowly.

"But did your head of house ever disown you?" I countered.

"No."

"Alright, then have you bound Grimmauld to its new lord?"

"Erm, no."

"Perfect," I smiled wickedly

"Princess?" Uncle Siri gulped shying away from my most probably, slightly terrifying expression.

This was perfect! When the time was right we could throw Dumbledork and his flock out. Uncle Siri would have to specify who exactly was allowed entrance to his home, and Dumbledore would sure as hell not be invited in.

"Don't worry, it's not time yet. That's more of a phase two move."

"Mia, just one last question. How did you get so bad so fast?"

"Er... No comment?" I said hopefully. He raised an eyebrow clearly indicating that that wasn't an acceptable response. "Fine, but none of you get to reprimand me. I learned my lesson," I grumbled.

And so, I told them of the flushing potion effect. I told them how it had helped at first, but I had felt myself getting worse. Moony Remy remembered and I knew I could get Uncle Siri to remember, so I hadn't cared. I told them how I could feel myself wasting away while in his mind, expelling the magic that could have helped me fight off the poisoning. I told them how I knew I couldn't afford to drift out of his mind and had to forcefully expel us as soon as I could.

"Do you always have to push yourself so hard?" Uncle Siri asked bitterly.

No doubt trying not to bite my head off for being so stupid, but it still stung. I was just trying to get something accomplished before I died. It's not like I knew I was going to live. It's not like I thought they'd figure out what was wrong or that they'd find a way to save me.

"I wouldn't have been so screwed over if that bastard hadn't bound my core. It's not my bloody fault he left it just above sodding average!" I snapped.

"Mia, that's even more of a reason to not be pushing yourself into exhaustion," Draco said softly.

I could feel my eyes drooping. Guess I had less conscious time than I thought.

"I have a theory a…bout that too…later though…" I slurred. "Moony Remy, Uncle Siri, you need to go back... Make'em think I'm there bu… knocked out. Come back 'morrow morning," I finished.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it, princess. Time for bed," I heard Moony Remy purr, putting me under the covers. With a loving kiss to my forehead he apparated away, leaving Uncle Siri and Draco looking uncomfortably at each other.

"You can start with a pat on the back or a tussle of the hair. We can work our way up. I know you two with your upbringings the whole lovey dovey father son bit will take some getting used to," I breathed, shutting my eyes and giving in to the call of Hypnos. **(Greek god of sleep)**

-O-

**Narrator's POV**

If Hermione had stayed awake and had had the energy, she would have laughed at how similarly the two reacted. They both raised their eyebrows in identical disbelieving expressions. Draco couldn't believe how she knew exactly what they were uncomfortable about. He was supposed to be the emotionally perceptive one. Then again, she was bright, and it couldn't be too hard to guess.

"Goodnight love," they both said before stepping out of her room and calling Kreacher to pop them back to Draco's room. They had a lot to discuss, after all.

**A/N Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited! It means a lot, truly! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next chapter should be much more interesting.**

**Oh, and PLEASE REVIEW! ^_^**


	15. Er, It's Complicated

**A/N And I'm back! Hey all, here's a newly edited chapter! Anyways, enjoy, R&amp;R**

**Draco's POV**

_Draco's Room, that night_

"Dad, can I talk to you about something?"

"It's so weird... It seems like yesterday I was Daddy or Pa. Now, I'm just Dad and you and Angel are all grown up," Dad mused melancholy.

"Tell me about it" I muttered. "Dad, I'm worried... She's gone through so much, and she's so hurt, yet seems so strong, but at the same time she looks like she's been starving herself. I don't want her to hurt hers-"

"She's not. She isn't hurting herself... she may not be helping herself, but that is all on those surrogate bastards she had as _'parents'_. They wouldn't feed her. She'd have to find food for herself and she wouldn't let herself get used to food at Hogwarts so that she wouldn't go through withdrawal at home."

"How could I not know?"

"None of us did. Not even Harry. He blew up when he found out. She used to send him food, you know?" he chuckled dryly. "It's funny how everyone looked at Harry and immediately saw a poor orphaned boy who grew up with despicable, abusive muggles or the Boy-Who-Lived, but when they look at her they just see her brains and ability with a wand. They don't take the time to look behind the books and the brave smile she puts on. She had everyone fooled and even now we only know what she's willing to tell us and see what she wants us see. She's on her guard around everyone. I know you don't really notice, since she seems freer around you, but it's going to take time before she lets people in and trusts them fully. It's actually her wariness around everyone that has allowed her to see the loose strings in this whole mess of knots," my dad explained.

He was right. I didn't really notice how she closed everyone off, but I know that she's not as happy as she looks. She's not as carefree and cheerful as she makes people believe.

"Just take care of her... I've seen how Wonder Weasel looks at her. He looks at her like Krum did but without inhibition nor a trace of propriety. I'm afraid he could try something," I sighed.

I really hated this situation sometimes. I absolutely loathed the fact that I couldn't be there to protect her. What if someone tried to poison her again? What if someone hurt her? I wouldn't be able to be there for her.

"I'll watch over her, she's practically my daughter, and besides Moony isn't going to let any of those blasted ginger weasels lay a finger on her," he smiled.

Moony, that was an issue, well not an issue but an enigma. He had strong feelings for her, I knew. He loved her, I could feel it. He was extremely protective of her, like _extremely_. It made me slightly uncomfortable (well that may be an understatement, but still... he was Moony Remy), especially considering that she was _mine_, _my _other half, my _soul_, my _mate_. I was the one who felt like that. I was supposed to be the _only_ one who felt like that.

"I still don't understand why he's so attached to her..." I mused out loud.

"I've never asked," he replied gobsmacked.

He hadn't thought about it. Of course he hadn't, he was fiercely protective by nature. He didn't see it as anything strange. He probably thought that it was because she was a girl, and we tend to be more protective anyways.

"Anyways, how do you feel about her still corresponding with the Bulgarian seeker?" he asked seriously.

"She wore periwinkle," I shrugged nonchalantly.

Periwinkle meant friendship, nothing more. I had nothing to worry about anyway. I trusted her, and she wasn't interested. Besides, she always seemed to enjoy having intelligent conversations, and Krum had never looked like he would be able to fit the bill.

"Yeah, yeah, color of friendship and all that, but doesn't it bug you, even a little?" he asked honestly curious.

"Yes and no. I wish she had never had a chance to correspond with him. I wish I had been able to ask her to the ball instead, but I'm not afraid of losing her to him. She's mine and I'm hers. That much is and will always be unchangeable," I explained confidently.

"How-you know what, never mind. I have to go. Will you come tomorrow?"

"Yes, tomorrow morning around nine, so I can say goodbye to my Mia."

**-O-**

_Meanwhile at the Black Ancestral Home_…

**Harry's POV**

"Kreacher, where are they? Please, tell me. They've been gone for hours," I begged the elf for the hundredth time already.

Something had to have happened. They weren't here, and I knew they wouldn't leave without reason. It was driving me mad! Where was Hermione!? She had been acting strange this morning, what if something happened to her? I needed to know and that bloody elf wouldn't tell me anything!

"Harry, wanna play some exploding snap?!" Ron called from the entrance hall, awakening Sirius's mum.

"FILTHY BLOOD TRAITORS AND HALF BREEDS TAINTING MY HOUSE!"

"Damn," I muttered, as Kreacher disappeared before I could start questioning him again. Exploding snap with the twins and Ron it was.

…._THE NEXT MORNING…._

**Narrator's POV**

"She's still not back," Harry muttered to himself.

There had been no traces of them yesterday, and now they were here, but _she _wasn't. He had even tried to ask Kreacher again, but he wouldn't say a thing, again. No one else seemed to know she wasn't here so he didn't dare ask them. What happened, he wondered. Why had they left in the first place?

"Wotcher Harry," Tonks said peppily, before grabbing him by the elbow.

Harry immediately tensed. She was too close for his comfort, like way too close. He wasn't used to human contact, unless it came from Hermione or Sirius, but mostly and preferably Hermione. Where was she taking him, he wondered, as she dragged him away. They went down stairs, up a corridor, turned left, then right, then down two more corridors, and, finally, behind a door.

Before Harry had the chance to look around and find out where she had taken him, he found himself pressed against the wall, with her way too close to comfort, like _way_ too close. He could feel her breath against his ear. She was saying something, he was sure, but he couldn't concentrate. It was too disconcerting. She was too close. It wasn't good when people got too close. It usually meant pain or trouble, and he wasn't particularly fond of either.

"Potter!" Tonks snapped, finally realizing that Harry was not listening to what she was saying. "As handsome as you are, it's not happening," she said sweetly, pulling away. "Now, focus!" she growled, whipping out her wand.

She put up privacy wards, and silencing and notice-me-not charms. She hadn't wanted to do that. It would be rather conspicuous to those trouble-making/seeking twins if they happened to walk by, but Harry hadn't given her another option. He seemed to be uncomfortable and incapable of coherent thought. Sure she understood the incoherent part...for a few seconds... not for as long though. She didn't understand how he was incapable of _thinking _after a few _minutes_. After four years at Hogwarts, he should be comfortable around people. Maybe she needed to talk to Min. He might have a people phobia or something, she mused.

"Alright, talk Potter," she ordered sternly.

He shuffled his feet. What was he supposed to say? She wasn't supposed to have noticed they were gone, he was sure. Besides, how the hell had she known?

"I know all three of them were gone yesterday, and _she's _still not here, so tell me. Now." she commanded.

"I don't know," he gulped, vey much afraid of the murderous glint in her eyes. Screw Voldemort, angry women were way scarier. "I-I've been asking Kreacher but he won't tell m-"

Harry was interrupted by a pop from the room upstairs.

"Damn! They left. They shouldn't even be up yet," Tonks cursed.

"Why couldn't you tackle _them_," Harry muttered, running his hands though his wild, jet black hair.

"Because you're _sooo_ much more _fun_ Harry," she purred, tapping his nose playfully. She all but skipped out of the room, but not before throwing Harry a flirtatious wink, which left him incredibly confused and blushing a very nice shade of crimson.

-O-

_Meanwhile at the Leaky Cauldron…_

**Narrator's POV**

"Mornin' Lass," Tom said cheerfully. Greatly relieved that she looked much better, she still looked weak and drained, but that was to be expected. She had been poisoned after all.

"Morning Papa Tommy," she chirped, carefully gauging his reaction.

Something stirred inside him. It was a tiny little pulse in the back of his brain. He shook his head trying to clear it. If Hermione hadn't been watching for even the most miniscule of reactions, she would have missed it, but she didn't, and she was glad, ecstatic actually. There was hope, now she just needed a bit more proof for confirmation, but it was looking good.

"Tom, can we talk?" she asked softly.

"Er… yes," he replied confused.

"P-Tom, why did you take me in? I'm eternally grateful, but why? I mean no one else would have, especially not in times like these… what pushed you to do it?" she continued, inwardly cursing herself for nearly slipping up.

"Y-you were alone a-and I couldn't just… just leave you to fend for yourself," he stuttered looking at anything but her.

"But why?" she persisted.

"I just couldn't."

"Tom, please, look at me," she said softly.

He slowly turned to look at her. His blue eyes looked into her vibrantly colored ones. She held his gaze, as if she were trying to see the very depths of his soul. Something about the situation felt familiar, or as if it could be familiar. He wasn't sure. He felt too disoriented to think. Her eyes were hypnotizing.

"Why did you take me in?" she whispered.

"Since the first time I met you, I felt a strange pull. I felt like I needed to protect you. I felt like you were already important to me, but I just didn't know it yet…" he admitted without thinking. In fact, he hadn't yet realized what he had said.

"Do you feel like that towards anyone else?" she asked curiously.

"Draco," he replied.

She broke the eye contact and he finally processed the words that had come out of his mouth. He didn't know what had pushed him to tell her, but he didn't really regret it. He felt a lot lighter now, even if she probably thought he was a bit bonkers now.

"You pro'lly think I'm crazy now, ey Lass?" he chuckled.

"No, I'm relieved. You have no idea how much," she breathed, smiling softly.

It seemed like it took much effort to produce such a small smile, but the emotion behind it was evident. She was so relieved that even though Dumbledore had tried to separate them, their ties hadn't been destroyed. She still had her family… even if it wasn't complete. It never would be. It would never be the same, but she didn't feel the loss as much as she should have. Then again, she hadn't really allowed herself to process all this on a personal level, and she wasn't about to. She wasn't yet ready to accept that everything had been stripped from her in every way possible.

She didn't think she ever would be. She sighed, putting the morbid thoughts aside. She didn't want to think about it. She just wanted to stop the bastard and have her revenge, but that would have to wait. She would have time for inflicting pain later. Sure it could be _much_ later, but there had to be some truth to the saying _revenge is better served cold._

"Anyway, Draco will be stopping by everyday… you two will be working on something… He'll explain it later. I'll ask Kreacher to drop me off here Tuesday, so we can get the Manor ready for Wednesday, alright?" she rambled, effectively distracting Tom from the previous 'discussion.'

"Alright, so in two days' time, aye?"

"Yes, and I would recommend getting another pair of hands on deck. I suspect you'll be much busier from now on," she smiled.

With a pop, Draco appeared, Poppy holding his hand. The little elf's eyes widened at the sight of Hermione on the bed, so obviously weakened. The poor elf was saddened seeing such a kind, loving, wonderful Mistress. She was her Master's mate, even if they hadn't finalized their was Miss Mia. She was _special_. She would need protecting, Poppy knew, and Poppy would do everything she could to protect her, and she knew that she could get Dobby to help her too, even if it wasn't time yet. He loved their, well her, master nearly as much as she did, and their loyalty laid with her.

"Missy Hermy! How is you Missy Hermy," she cried, running to her bedside.

"I'm fine now Poppy, thank you," Hermione smiled.

"Missy Hermy must takes care. Poppy will take care of Missy Hermy, but Missy Hermy needs to bes careful," Poppy said forlornly.

Hermione nodded weakly looking into her wide green eyes. Looking into Poppy's eyes, she felt something stir into her mind. It was vague, incredibly so. She knew it wasn't related to Dumbledore. She knew it wasn't time, but now she knew where to look when it was.

"Mia, are you going to be fine to go today?" Draco asked worriedly.

She was still very weak. He could feel her exhaustion even if she only looked slightly (a bit, but not _just _a bit) paler than usual. Once again he was reminded of how easily she hid everything that went on inside. It hurt to see that she had been so hurt by someone(s) that she had to be on her guard to such an extreme.

"Yes, I'll have to stay in bed the rest of today, but I should be fine my noon tomorrow. I'll most definitely be ready for the Wizengamot meeting Wednesday," she replied confidently.

"Mia, please don't exert yourself," Draco pleaded.

"I promise, Dragon. I'll make Harry do everything for me, alright? I mean that's the purpose of younger siblings, right…. well at least in theory," she trailed off, thinking out loud.

"I'm sure you'll have Moony Remy never leaving your side," Draco said softly, sitting on the bed next to her, watching her reaction closely.

"Yeah," she said awkwardly, flushing slightly, a particular memory coming to mind.

She remembered the reason behind why she had started calling him Moony Remy, a name that both wolf and man were happy with. From the moment Moony Remy had explained why he had been staying away (to her parents, without them knowing she was listening, of course), she started working on having the man accept the wolf and the wolf forgive and accept the man. It had taken time (nearly three months!), but she had done it, and Moony Remy would come around to take care of her and play with her every day.

"Explain, now," Draco demanded, _slightly_ ticked off (well quite a bit more than _slightly)._

"Imoneofhispossiblemates," she said quickly, blushing brighter. He glared at her.

"Come again?"

"What?!" Sirius exclaimed as he and Remus apparated in.

Remus backed away from Sirius who was looking murderously at him. It wasn't like it was his fault. He couldn't control who his possible mates were, at least he had three to choose from. It just so happened that one of his best friend's daughter happened to be the one he had the strongest affinity for. However, she was _Draco's _mate. She couldn't _be his_, and, honestly, the idea wasn't too appealing either. She had been a toddler at the time, and now she had been his student and was still too young to mate with... not to mention it would be extremely awkward and creepy.

"I' . . ," she repeated, glaring at their horrified expressions.

"B-but, you're… we're, what?" Draco spluttered.

"You are her mate, yes, but she is also one of my _possible_ mates, the strongest, actually. Nymphadora is a close second, though," Moony/Remus reassured everyone in the room.

"How is that possible?" Tom asked perplexed.

"I think the question here is: how did she know," Sirius said, glaring at Hermione. How could she have known and not tell them? Had she been eavesdropping? Without getting caught?

"I _overheard_ it the first day he visited after Harry was born. I wanted him to come back. I could see it hurt him to be away, but it also hurt him to want to claim me, so…" she trailed off awkwardly, blushing guiltily.

It was quite curious how much she remembered. She could remember just about everything since the day Draco had been born, not clearly of course. That hadn't come until she was one (at least), but still she remembered conversations and her thoughts as clearly as if she had recorded them and could play them any time she desired, maybe it was a witch thing?

"That's why you made us accept one another and become one," Moony/Remus breathed, finally understanding.

"Yes, but it also would have killed you if you hadn't come to terms with who you are," she said matter-of-factly. "Anyways, Nym?" she smirked, raising an eyebrow coyly, effectively changing the subject.

"Yes, she's the third," he affirmed.

_"That's perfect! I really like her! And we're going to be family!,"_ Hermione thought excitedly, grabbing hold of Draco's hand.

_"He's reluctant, Mia… I don't think he likes the idea too much," _Draco thought back.

_"He probably doesn't want her to feel forced into it. He won't act on it until he thinks she likes him back, but that shouldn't take too much. I mean he's sweet, smart, and fun!"_

_Should I feel threatened Mia?"_

_"Never."_

"Good," he said out loud, pressing a lingering kiss to her forehead.

"Another one of their psychic moments," Sirius grumbled.

"Don't worry, we can only doing when we're in physical contact," Draco replied off-handedly.

_"I see you've figured it out. It took you long enough," _Hermione teased.

_"When did _you_ figure it out?"_

_"Yesterday, when you… yeah…"_

_"Oh, when you were annoyed and I thought I had done something, but then you winked at me?"_

_"Yep."_

"Alright, so we better get going. Dragon, I already told _Papa Tommy_ you were going to start visiting more often. You still need to explain what you're doing, but you're good to go," Hermione said out loud.

"Not so fast Missy, oh so great one. I haven't forgotten what we were discussing before you two went telepathetic on us," Sirius sing-songed. Moony/Remus and Hermione groaned.

"Can't you drop it?" Hermione pleaded.

"No. Now, what is she to you if she's your wolf's most adequate mate, and the man's niece of sorts?" spat Sirius, the disgust thinly veiled.

"Sirius!" Hermione snapped, her hair turning the bright red it was originally. "How dare you," she hissed lowly. "Stop referring to him like that. He doesn't have a split personality. He isn't a freak of nature. He is neither man nor wolf. He is a man-wolf, wolf-man. He is Moony Remy, a son of the moon. He is precious and special and I will not have you or anyone else making him feel inadequate or dirty," Hermione finished, the threat evident in the halo of fire framing her face and the way her iris was swirling.

All the men in the room gulped. No one could deny she was beautiful when she was angry, but it was a dangerous beautiful. The kind of unearthly beautiful that you couldn't stay away from even if it promised death. It was the most frightening sight in the world. A promise of death wrapped in a most beckoning, tantalizing wrapping.

"Now, I am like a daughter to him, his advisor in the pack and nearly en par with his marked mate when it comes to protectiveness and affection," she chirped with a fond smile in Moony/Remus's direction, as if she hadn't just been the personification of the angel of death less than two seconds ago.

"Mia, your hair went back to the muddy red," Draco said perplexed. Why was her (well, their) hair changing colors?

"Yeah… it looks horrible doesn't it? I hate him so much, but don't worry. I'll find a way. I just need to do some research," she grumbled, looking at a strand of her hair in disgust.

"What?"

"I can't be sure…yet, but once I've confirmed it, I'll tell you all, alright?"

"Alright, Princess, let's go, then."

"Oh, right… Um Poppy, would you mind glamouring my hair to look a muddy, chocolate brown until say tomorrow night?"

"Of course Missy Hermy!" piped Poppy.

Draco caressed her jaw before pressing another kiss to her forehead. After asking her to take it easy, they finally apparated to Grimmauld Place. Draco explained that he and Tom would be working on mental discipline starting tomorrow, before leaving with Poppy as well.

**-O-**

**Tonks POV**

I had decided to wait in Remus's room. They had to come back sometime, and they'd more likely than not apparate directly into his room. The twins never ventured anywhere near here. They respected their former teacher and idol too much to invade his privacy in any way, shape, or form. It had been a little over an hour when they finally appeared with a pop.

Remus had Min cradled in his arms lovingly. He _adored _her; that much was obvious. He cared for her more than one would for a former student, and she trusted him more than one would any teacher. I probably _should _have felt _at least_ a bit jealous, but I, honestly, couldn't. I couldn't begrudge her anything. I really like her! LIKE A LOT! Besides, they didn't look like two romantically-involved people. It was more like a father carrying his daughter, or at least I hoped.

Speaking of Hermione, she looked like shite! She was pale and her magical aura was really weak. She was absolutely _drained_! What the hell happened? Oh someone was going to die!

"What did you two do to her?" I demanded, glaring at the two men.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Sirius asked.

"Don't you dare change the topic Sirius Orion Black!" I spat.

"If you two will excuse me, I need to put her in bed. She fell asleep the second I had her in my arms, so please keep your voices down," Remus muttered, making his way over to his bed.

I waited until he tucked her in, before rounding on them both. By the time I was through with them, they had explained that Molly had meant to feed both Min and Harry love potions, but apparently she had already overdosed Min, before Min accidentally took Harry's too. Then, the two idiots in front of me had brewed a simple flushing potion that reacted with the potions that were already in her system.

There was more behind the story, I knew, but I didn't push. They would tell me when they were ready. For now, I had more than enough food for thought. Why would Molly Weasley want to tie a girl like Min (obviously awesome and badass) to the troll that is Ronald Billius Weasley? I mean Harry to Ginny makes sense, Ginny was at least not too shabby on the eyes, even if she was a bit too whiny and bratty for my tastes. Harry has the Potter fortune and he's an eye-candy, and he seems like a good bloke, but why Min? She's too smart to be controlled (or so I've heard). Ronald is thicker than hippogriff dung, and bears the resemblance to a dragon's arse. The match was absolutely idiotic! She would end up dead, or worst insane!

"I'll keep an eye out for her too, then. That troll doesn't deserve a single thought from Min," I announced, shivering in disgust at the thought, before leaving the room.

I stopped outside the room, to collect myself before joining Molly to help out in the kitchen. Just as I was about to head down, a certain Harry Potter slammed into me, hard, nearly barreling down the stairs.

"Already falling for me Harry? I know me being so irresistible and charming and all, it's hard not to," I laughed winking, before bounding down the stairs, leaving him confused again.

Young Harry has much to learn, I thought wryly. And boy was I going to have fun teaching him!

**a/n Well, the Tonks/Harry flirtiness has semi-started. If you have any pick up lines/ scenario/situation you would like me to use, then just put it in a review/PM and I promise to do my best to incorporate it.**

**Anywho, this chapter is edited! ^_^**


	16. Falling Flaming Flirtations

**A/N so this is finally edited, and this is a combo of what was originally two chapters, so yeah... **

Narrator's POV

"Hey handsome," she greeted, wrapping her arm around his waist.

She made a show of fluttering her eyelashes and giggling flirtatiously before leaning into him on her tiptoes, her mouth by his ear.

"She's back. Relax Harry, I'm not planning on sullying your honor," she whispered, her voice coy.

"Not yet," he muttered, uncomfortable with her being so close and being so so close, intimate.

"Perhaps," she giggled before skipping out of the room as merrily as she had when going in. He burst out laughing when he heard something crash loudly onto the floor, followed by a loud curse. It served her right, making him so uncomfortable.

"Well, well, well,"

"Looks like ickle-"

"Little Harry has-"

"Quite the lady charms," the twins tutted amused, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. At his confused look they shrugged saying, "disillusionment charm."

"So you and Tonks, Harry?" they asked, identical lecherous grins adorning their faces.

"No!" Harry exclaimed horrified. The twins' smiles widened. "N-no we were just… I mean it's just… I think she just enjoys making me uncomfortable…"

"Oh dear, we can't"

"Have that, can we?"

"Er… no?" Harry responded confused, not knowing what they were getting at, at all.

"Ah Harry,"

"Harry, Harry,"

"What are we going"

"To do with you?"

"Gred, dear brother of mine,"

"Yes, Forge?"

"I think we oughta"

"No! She'd kill"

"Obliterate"

"Decimate us completely"

"Yeah, but it's"

"For his own good"

"And she wouldn't withhold that from him"

"Alright then, but she hexes you first."

"Deal."

With wide smiles, they left a very confused Harry Potter behind. Unbeknowst to them, things were about to get very interesting at Grimmauld Place.

-O-

Hermione's POV

"Min, you're up!" Nym squealed the second my eyes fluttered open.

"Salazar, Nym, keep it down will you?" I groaned, still feeling a bit peaky.

"But it's been hours," she pouted.

"Go away Nym," I muttered snuggling into the bed.

"It'd be so much better if Dragon were here," I thought morosely.

"Aw Min, don't be like that. We're best friends, but we don't know anything about each other yet. We haven't had the mandatory girl talks that I'm sure we'll detest but find amusing all the same," she pouted.

"Nym I-"

"Come on, please. I even got you something that'll make you feel loads better."

"You're not going away are you?" I groaned.

"Nope, and I'd probably end up shoving this potion down your throat anyway," she smiled wickedly.

"Nym… I can't take any potions…"

"Yes, you can. I made sure that it doesn't have any ingredients that go in love potions or anything that could react badly with those ingredients."

"Nym," I sighed, biting my lip. What if it wasn't safe? What if it caused me pain?

"I promise, Min. Please? Just trust me."

"I'm not… good with… doing things without thinking," I said carefully, not wanting to admit I wasn't good with just trusting people in general.

"Min, just please."

"Fine," I huffed, knowing I didn't really have another option, not unless I wanted to explain either why I didn't trust her or why potions could be detrimental to my health, and I, definitely, wasn't ready to tell Nym anything about everything just yet.

Nym lifted my head carefully as she tipped the flask to my lips. It took a few minutes before it took effect, but when it did, it felt marvelous! I could feel the warm liquid thickening as it coursed through my system, strengthening my muscles and relieving any aches I had. Finally, the potion seemed to warm even further to the point of discomfort as it traveled back to my core, to my depleted magical stores. It burned as it bonded and mixed with my magic. Then, it was over. I blinked.

"Marvelous, isn't it?" she grinned at me. "I mean, it doesn't completely restore your magic, but it helps enough for you to not be bed-ridden."

"It-wow- thanks!" I spluttered, sitting up and stretching. "What was it?"

"Rookie Auror Trainee Revivor," she beamed. "They give us one dose at the academy and the recipe. The smarter of us would brew it in mass and sell it out to the idiots who thought they'd be able to survive without it or that it would be provided for them." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh," I replied, not knowing what else to say. It was bloody brilliant. I was ready for Tuesday!

"Come on, then, we need to go downstairs. It's a matter of time before they come looking for you, so might as well get it over with." Nym smiled widely. "Oh, wait! I nearly forgot!" she exclaimed, jumping onto my bed before I could even begin to get up. "Soooo… what's up with Harry?" she asked bluntly.

What the hell was she talking about? I hadn't been in the house for nearly two whole days! What, did she think I knew everything that happened while I was out? She was crazy! Then again, I am too… I mean it kind of comes with having a brain like mine. That's probably why we just click. My face must have shown my confusion because she continued before I could ask.

"I mean it's like he either has a people phobia or he is extremely awkward around the fairer sex."

"It's definitely the latter," I managed to say before bursting out in laughter.

Poor Harry! I mean we're not used to physical contact and Nym has no regards for personal boundaries. He must have been so uncomfortable! He probably felt like he was being attacked.

"You're terrible Nym,'' I guffawed. "The only girl he even talks to is me, and I'm not even close to being a normal girl."

"Well, guess we're going to have to fix that," she said simply.

"Him or me?"

"Both," she smirked, pulling me out of bed and out of the bedroom.

"Whose room was I in?" I asked dazedly, noting how different it had been from it the one I had slept in when I had first arrived.

"Remus's," she was able to reply before stumbling on the stairs.

She was able to regain her footing before ending up sprawled on the ground. I, however, was not so lucky. My feet caught on her fumbling legs. I was positive I would end up very beaten up and bruised at the end of the stairwell, but... I didn't. Instead of meeting the unforgiving hard stairs and floor, I fell into a very firm, very warm wall… well chest.

"My, my Hermione, falling for me already? Not that I'm complaining, of course," I heard a twin (Fred, the wind informed me) chuckle. His hands that were currently on my shoulders to steady me, trailed down to my elbows and come to rest on my waist.

"In your dreams, Fred," I replied with a venomously sweet voice, smacking his hands away.

"No, in my fantasies," he purred.

"I'm sure you find them more than pleasing don't you, Fred?" I breathed, looking up at him through lidded eyes.

"Most definitely," he replied breathlessly.

"Then you obviously don't need the real thing. Bye Fred," I said chirpily, patting his cheek.

"Bloody hell." "'Mione?" I heard Harry and George exhale a few steps below Fred.

I cursed internally for not having noticed them before. Oh well, it was all Nym's fault anyways. I wouldn't have been oblivious to their existence if she hadn't tripped me and led to me being so sodding disoriented.

"Boys," I greeted them calmly, before looking over my shoulder and raising an expectant eyebrow at Nym.

She just stood there, staring me with shocked mirth. She stayed like that for a couple of minutes before I decided to break her out of her seemingly petrified state.

"Well are you coming or not? I'm famished."

"In that case, milady, allow me to escort you to the kitchens," George said silkily, walking up to me, pressing his lips to the knuckles of my hand.

He was flirting too! This is just ridiculous and quite inconsiderate of them both. What if I didn't know their current behavior wasn't to be taken seriously? Well they are terribly mistaken if they think I won't respond in kind. This is war.

"Why I'd be honored my fair sir," I blushed, smiling coyly. He smiled broadly. "However," I continued. "I must decline your oh so flattering offer. You see, I'm afraid Nym and I have other plans," I finished, slipping into a suggestive, husky voice I had heard Lavender and Parvati practice in the dorm room.

I winked at George, skipped over to Harry and pressed a kiss to his cheek before skipping into the kitchens. Well, I almost made into the kitchens. Nym, it seems, had caught up to me and dragged me into a side room, where she finally burst out laughing.

"Th-that was abso-bloody-lutely brilliant!" she finally exclaimed once she started to calm down a bit. "I thought you said you weren't normal, and the boys had all said you were the biggest bookworm ever!" she accused.

"Hey! I resent that," I exclaimed mirthfully. "Anyways, I'm not girly. In fact, I think the first time anyone noticed I was a girl was at the Yule Ball last year," I huffed.

"But, then… how?" she sputtered.

"I room with the most annoying, boy-crazed chits at Hogwarts," I shrugged.

She rolled her eyes at me before accepting my reply. "Anyways, I just heard we have ourselves a flirt war," she said mischievously.

"We?"

"Yeah, apparently the terror twins want to show Harry how it's done, since they saw me 'assaulting' him, by demonstrating with you, and since you obviously had the upper hand this round, we have ourselves a flirt war," she explained.

"But, knowing the twins, we have ourselves a flirt/prank war," I continued her train of thought. "I suppose we'll have to step it up the second they pull their first prank… we should keep our hands clean for as long as we can," I sighed, my brain already coming up with several prank ideas.

"Do you think we can get Remus and Sirius to help?"

"But, Nym, it'll be so much more fun if we hand their arses to them all on our own," I pouted, my eyes shining at the mere thought of all the fun we could have.

"True, now, let's go eat," she smiled brightly. "There should be something left ov-" she hadn't even been able to finish what she was saying before she tripped, again.

"Nym, we really need to work on your balance," I sighed, stepping around her to lead the way into the kitchen.

" 'Cause, you're so graceful. I wasn't the one who nearly went all people bowling on us," she reminded me.

"I wouldn't have tripped if someone wasn't helplessly clumsy," I quipped.

"Details, details," she waved me off, as I busied myself preparing some food.

I ended up making a lot more than I had intended. Nym and I most definitely were not going to be able to finish all of it. Just as I was supposed to ask Nym what we would do with the left overs, I saw three glowing forms approaching.

"Problem solved, then," I thought ruefully.

"Merlin! This is delicious 'Mione, thanks!"

He was echoed by appreciative moans from Moony Remy, Nym, and Uncle Siri. I blushed brightly. It was so strange having people thank me. It was even stranger having people compliment me for completing a duty. Well it wasn't a duty here, but still. This wasn't normal (well not for me). It was weird, strange; it felt wrong. It made me feel uncomfortable and out of place. Harry, bless him, must have noticed because he started talking about quidditch, which effectively engaged the others.

I proceeded to eat. I wasn't feeling too hungry, if I was honest with myself. I was full after eating less than half of my already meagre serving. I was just contemplating whose plate should suddenly appear with a few extra morsels when I felt my skin prickling like when people are staring at you intently. I looked up only to find Uncle Siri and Harry glaring at me. I shifted uncomfortably before lowering my head to stare at my plate.

To eat or not to eat, that is the question. Whether tis wiser in nature to eat to my fill or maintain my resistance in the event of misfortune. I could feel Uncle Siri and Harry still glaring at me. Couldn't they just leave me be?! I hadn't skipped a meal in about three weeks. I hadn't since Papa Tommy took me in, wasn't that enough? It's better to be unnecessarily prepared than to be caught unaware. They couldn't ensure that I was always going to get enough to eat from now on. Besides, I couldn't just start indulging in massive amounts of food out of the blue, it would be counterproductive.

"Princess?" Moony Remy's concerned voice brought me out of my bitter internal rant.

"Min, you've barely eaten. You can't be full."

"Well I am! And you can all drop it," I snapped, standing abruptly.

I was about to storm to my room (well the room I shared with Ginny) when I felt someone grab ahold of my wrist rather painfully. I needed to be sodding alone, couldn't they bloody understand that?! I needed to blow off steam and come to terms with the fact that my whole world was being turned on its axis and still had a lot of shaking up to go through.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Nym yelled as she swung me around to face her.

She kept her hand tight around my wrist. She had made it so she towered over me, her eyes flashing angrily. How dare she? She has no right to touch me, to hurt me. (Granted, it probably wouldn't hurt if I weren't so damn thin and weak, but that wasn't the point.)

"Let go," I growled, feeling my anger, my fire course through my veins.

"What if I don't feel like it?" was her reply, her eyes and hair flashing crimson.

My eyes locked with hers as I let my fire touch the hand that was holding my wrist firmly.

"Oh, oh," I vaguely heard Moony Remy and Uncle Siri say, but I was too far gone to process what they meant by that, and sincerely I couldn't care less.

My temper was making its first uninhibited appearance. She made to pull away, but this time I was the one who would be holding her captive. I grasped her hand in mine.

"Wrong answer," I hissed, burning her imprisoned hand.

"Bloody hell, I'm sorry! Just let go!" she howled through gritted teeth.

My temper somewhat placated, I withdrew my fire. I took a deep calming breath, clearing my head enough to form rational thoughts. I looked down at Nym's red, scorched, bloodied hand, still in mine. I closed my eyes, feeling tears rolling down my cheeks. I hurt her. She hadn't deserved that. She didn't know. It wasn't fair that I had lashed out at her. I bit my lip debating whether I should or not, but, honestly, there was no point in not. She had already seen. It was the most effective, painless way of fixing it anyway.

-O-

Narrator's POV

Decision made, she drew all of Tonks' internal fire away from her injured hand. Her relieved sigh served to confirm to everyone in the room that she was, in fact, no longer in pain. Hermione closed her eyes and centered her mind and magic on feeling the water in the room. Opening her eyes, she condensed the water vapor in the room into a sphere large enough to fit three of Nymphadora's hands.

Hermione knew that water had healing capacities, and so she gracefully moved the orb to engulf the injured hand. Hermione froze the outside of the sphere and the water inside swirled around their hands. Tonks couldn't feel anything, but she innately knew she was healing. Hermione was healing her! With water!

Hermione remained oblivious to the incredulous, shocked, and awed blatant stares she was receiving from everyone in the room. She was oblivious to the sight she was at that moment. Her hair was the bright, blood-red it had been in her childhood. Her eyes brightly glowed blue and gold, leaving no doubt in the metamorphmagus's mind that her new friend had abilities rarer than hers. She was an elemental with power over more than one element, an elemental who could manipulate water! That was simply unheard of... well not entirely unheard of, but still...

After three minutes, when Hermione was satisfied that Nymphadora was completely healed, Hermione used her fire to evaporate the sphere. The giant water orb glowed brightly before expanding and releasing itself into the air as a gas.

They all stared unmoving, unable to speak. Hermione, now aware of their gazes, began to feel extremely awkward. She cleared her throat, breaking the silence.

"I'm not sorry, but I'll admit you didn't deserve all that. Now, I'd appreciate it if this didn't leave this room," Hermione said coolly, looking impassively first at Tonks and then at the rest of them. She turned on her heel and regally left the room, her food unfinished and forgotten by all but one metamorphmagus.

… three hours later….

"Bloody hell, I'm sorry. I had no idea," Tonks exhaled after having heard her friend's story (well part of it).

She had found Hermione in the library, staring blankly at the books surrounding her, and Tonks took advantage of the situation to apologize and maybe get an explanation from her. It turns out that she didn't need to pry, Hermione had explained why she had flipped out on her. She explained her life before Tom and Grimmauld and how she still wasn't used to eating much. She explained how they had grated on her nerves for thinking they knew better and being angry at her for not eating properly.

"Please don't, I don't think I can take anymore sodding pity. I don't need it. I've lived through more than ten years of it, it's nothing I wasn't used to handling."

"Alright, but Min, be careful, yeah? People like you, they're more coveted than people like me, especially for someone who seems so unique and different even among people that are like you," Tonks said solemnly before exiting the library. She had some patrolling to do.

...the next day...

Hermione huffed, again, for the millionth time. Moony Remy hadn't allowed her to be out of bed ever since the damn potion had worn off. She had to admit that she was sore, tired, and slightly drained, but she wasn't sodding useless. Besides, she was bored. It was already three o'clock in the afternoon, and no one had even come visit her. She had been lucky that Kreacher had been kind enough to bring her breakfast as soon as she was sent back upstairs.

She had nothing to do. She was stuck in Moony Remy's room, doing nothing but stare at the ceiling. Kreacher had apologized, but he had to follow orders, and Sirius being him, thought it would be just marvelous if she were magically confined to staying in bed for the whole day. The bastard! She couldn't magic herself out. She couldn't read, and she couldn't even stretch her legs a little. Not to mention she was going mad, not having anything/anyone to observe/talk to.

Suddenly, the door creaked open. A smile immediately lit up Hermione's face. She hadn't expected anyone to come visit her. Nym was on duty, Ron was more likely than not too busy being with Harry, Ginny didn't care, and well... she wasn't too close to anyone else. Moony Remy and Uncle Siri had better things to do. The two identical red-heads jumped onto her bed, bearing gifts: books, chocolate, and hot cocoa. Merlin, they were saints! They spent a good few hours, until they were called down for dinner, talking and joking around with her and Nym, once she had gotten back. Maybe it wasn't too bad, but she still didn't like it.

_...APPROXIMATELY THREE HOURS EARLIER..._

_In the library_

**Hermione's POV**

I stormed into the library, my personal safe haven. I had just stepped inside, but I was already feeling a lot better. I still couldn't believe I had lost it like that. Well... I could believe I had lost it like that. I just couldn't believe I had taken it out on Nym in such an extreme manner. I sighed, pulling out my wand. If I was going to be here I might as well get some reading done. I had already read the first book: _Wizarding Bonds: Matters of the Soul, an overview. _It had been some help, and it only had had a a few rather minor hexes and curses on it.

It had really shed some light on my connection to Draco and Harry's connection to Voldemort. Apparently, Draco and I were a match made in heaven by the gods, or in less flowery girly terms, soul mates. We were literally each others halves... of everything. Harry and Voldemort had a much more horrific connection. If my guess was correct, which it most probably was, then Harry was a horocrux, meaning he had a fragment of Voldemort's soul in him. The book hadn't gone into too much detail on either subject, so I would have to read: _Liens de Puissance et Immortalite_, since, according to _Wizarding Bonds, _a soul bond was one of the most powerful bonds once completed, and a horocrux was a way of trying to achieve immortality. If everything went well, I wouldn't even have to bother with the third book.

Dutifully, I quickly deactivated all the curses on the book, once again thanking the gods that I had done so much research in the restricted section last year. I opened the book and went through the table of contents.

_Contents... _

_Part I_

_The Power of Heavenly Bonds_

_Introduction (1-3)_

_Stages of Completion (4-20)_

_Legal Implications (21-24)_

_Magical and Physical Implications (25-27)_

_Part II _

_Power of Core Merging_

_Merging Cores, an Introduction (28-30)_

_Finding the Right Target (31-33)_

_The Process (34-39)_

_Implications on the Mind, Body and Soul (40-44)_

_Part III_

_Immortality_

_Pozima de Iuvenis (45-48)_

_Aquae Vitae Splendidum (49-52)_

_Horocruxes, the Basics (53-59)_

_Horocruxes, Their Creation (60-70)_

_Implications on Body, Mind and Soul (71-76)_

_Horocruxes, Their Destruction (77-80)_

_"Alright... guess I'm starting with heavenly bonds..." _I thought with a sigh.

My eyes widened as I read on. There were three stages once the bond had been initiated, before the bond was complete. The bonding of Life and Mind, which is prompted by the first kiss. This, apparently tied the life forces of the soul mates and melded their minds together, thus allowing for the free passage of thoughts, emotions (pain included), and memories. It also made the couple much more susceptible to potions, and had them yearning for each others physical presence. The first stage was not supposed to release much magic, but, of course, that depended on the strength of the bond and any previous "mind meddling" that the couple had undergone, since the first stage released them from any such influences.

_"Merlin... guess I'm not getting my first kiss until all this shit is over," _I thought morosely, before continuing.

The second stage took place within the couple's mind, and constituted of "re-establishing the connection in the same manner as without, but within," so in other words, kiss while you're in your mind. I rolled my eyes, predictable much? The second stage was a binding of magic. It released any bonds on the couple's magic, while also expelling a cataclysmic amount of magic, since the couple's cores would be merging together and expanding. Finally, the third stage was consumation. It finalized the bond with the bonding of bodies and souls. It marked the couple as married, officially. This last bond would expel a much more subtle wave of magical energy so pure that it would be recorded by the Department of Mysteries of the Ministry of Magic and would leave unique, matching tattoos on the arms and backs of the, now bonded, couple.

_"Well that's intense... definitely, not doing that anytime soon... I can't even begin to imagine all the trouble Dragon and I would be in if we ended up married before we finished school... Okay, moving onto Harry's situation." _

I skimmed through the first two sections on Horocruxes. I didn't particularly want to learn all the horrid, gruesome details on how one went about creating a horocrux. Once I got to the implications of creating horocruxes, it started getting interesting. According to the book, creating more than one horocrux made a wizard (stupid misogynistic book) so mentally and physically unstable, that the wizard (or witch *rolls eyes*) in question completely lost what little human emotions they could have had left, and they also slowly lost their human appearance, beginning with their eyes and skin, and then spreading. Also, it appeared that the soul became so volatile that one rebound curse could cause the wizard to take on a wreath form, unable to move on, exist, or fully return, without outside aid, since they are anchored to this plane of existence through their horocrux(es).

_"Okay so obviously Voldemort was one stupid, cocky bastard, who was absolutely insane and more likely than not, not even human anymore, since he made at least two horocruxes: Harry and the Diary from second year...moving on... how to destroy these shits..."_

So basalisk venom, fiendfyre, a killing curse (if the horocrux is an animal), or a goblin-steel infused with phoenix tears or unicorn blood, willingly given, or basilisk venom. That _so _wasn't helpful! Well, at least the safe, proved methods weren't. There was an author's note on an experiment that was being run by a crazy group of witches and wizards. They were studying the effect of dementors on a soul. It was actually how it was proven that a dementor's kiss sucked a soul from a body. In theory, according to various wizards and the author, a dementor could be used to suck the soul out of a horocrux, and thus leave the object or being unharmed. Of course, it left a lot of room for error, since dementors weren't known for following orders word by word. It was also theorized that since horocruxes are of the darkest magic, the lightest of magic, patroni, could make the soul within the horocrux become unsettled and much more inclined to leave it's anchor.

_"In other words... Harry is like the key horocrux thanks to Voldemort's idiocy on trying to make an additional Horocrux on Hallow's Eve, the most magical night ever. I have to find a way to get a dementor to co-operate and suck Voldemort's soul out of Harry, preferrably while he's surrounded by white magic (love and patroni), so that the process is that much easier... no problem at all... None whatsoever... Merlin, what am I going to do? I can't just ask dementors to please suck out Voldemort's soul and please leave Harry's intact.. It might not work!"_

Without thinking, I placed the book back into its shelf, and proceeded to delve into depression. Why was life so bloody complicated? Now, I had to try to adjust all my plans to this... Well, I already had a few ideas, but I needed to fine tune them and make sure there wasn't any room for error because that would be disastrous!

* * *

**-O-**

**Narrator's POV**

...Wednesday (day of Wizengamot Meeting)...

Hermione had spent the whole day looking forward to making her grand appearance as Carina McKinnon a few hours later... well earlier. Anyways, it was bound to be loads of fun for her, she was sure. She couldn't wait to see everyone's reactions to the sudden reappearance of the McKinnons. It was bound to stir everything up and keep everyone on their toes only to be taken aback by their initial aloofness. It was wicked and a tad bit cruel but it was just perfect.

Not only was she anticipating the meeting, so far she and Nym had trumped the twins at every turn. They had been pretty sure that they had left them dazed permanently that last time. They had even made Arthur, Sirius and Lupin choke on their tea, while all the young men were left shifting uncomfortably in their seats with a very noticeable flushes.

She quickly made it into Sirius's room when it finally came time for her to leave. He had already been waiting for her with worried eyes. He wasn't sure about her plan. He didn't want her to take charge of everything, but she seemed to be determined to take care of everything on her own. He understood. She wanted it to be done correctly, and who better than her? She knew exactly what she wanted to be done, and she was bloody brilliant. She knew exactly how to play her cards to get exactly what she wanted without anyone knowing that it was what she wanted and that it had been her who had gotten it to happen.

"Just be careful, okay, Angel, oh so great one," Sirius murmured, hugging her softly, as if afraid she would break.

"Uncle Siri, don't worry, alright? I'll be fine. You should be more worried about everyone else."

"Too true," he chuckled, as she turned the time turner.

...Flashback to Nine o'clock in the morning the day before...

"Kreacher," Hermione called softly.

"What?" came his rather brusque reply.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but could you please take me to my room at the Leaky Cauldron," she asked sweetly.

Hermione was honestly surprised by how much Kreacher had changed already. He wasn't being blatantly rude. He seemed wary. It seemed he was wary of the nice treatment he was now receiving from Sirius, but he obviously preferred it, if his attitude improvement was any indication.

"Fine," he muttered, taking her hand before leaving her in the room.

"Thank you," she was able to say just as he disappeared.

...

"Mistress is welcome," Kreacher whispered, smiling lightly.

Poppy had visited Kreacher, unbeknowst to all the occupants of Grimmauld Place. He was elated when he discovered that 'Miss Granger' was his Master Dragon's Mistress Mia. He had missed his young master's but Poppy had assured him that they would all be together soon and that made the little elf very happy.

He got back to cleaning the uninhabited areas of Grimmauld Place. Once he finished all of those, he would move onto the rest of the house. He'd make it spotless by the time they were all together again. Maybe he would get to care for his young masters again, he thought with a smile.

...

"Tom?" Hermione called

"Lass! You're here!" Tom said excitedly, pulling her into a hug.

Tom was relieved to see her so well. She looked loads better than she had been two days before. It amazed him how resilient she was. She was strength itself, as much as it pained him to admit.

"Let's go to the Manor, Lass," he said softly.

Hermione nodded in response, and before she could blink they were in a very spacious, very beautiful room. She looked around the room in awe. It was so, so light. Sure it needed a bit of cleaning up, but everything was so perfect she was afraid to breathe too hard in case it disturbed anything.

"Like it, Lass?"

Hermione nodded mutely.

"Good, 'cause this will your room for whenever you come over. If you want to change anything, just tell me or one of the elves and it'll get done. Now, come on we have some work to do."

End Flashback

She had flooed directly into the living room, where Tom was already awaiting her arrival. He smiled warmly as he pulled her into a hug.

"I have a surprise for you," he ginned, motioning towards her now room.

She froze in awe as she took it in. It was beautiful, perfect. Gold, silver, blue, and green, all perfectly balanced. It was home. I felt myself tear up, what had I done to deserve all of this? I didn't deserve it, but I certainly wouldn't be complaining.

"There are some robes in the closet over there. Come down when you're changed, yeah?"

She walked in the direction of where he had said the closet was. She was a bit confused at first, thinking that the door would lead to another room. She was incredibly surprised, however, to see that the "room" was a walk-in closet of sorts, full of robes, fancy dresses, and more casual but still formal clothes obviously suitable for any pureblood outing that may come up.

... at the meeting...

"Tom?" Dumbledore asked barely suppressing his surprised indignation.

"It's Lord Thomas Alexander McKinnon, actually," Tom replied, addressing the whole room.

"Do you come to retake your seat, Lord McKinnon?" Madame Augusta asked, down to business as usual.

"I have; however, I also come to introduce, my dear niece, Lady Carina McKinnon. I trust that her word and opinion will be taken as if they were my own."

"Surely, you do not plan to let... such an inexperienced young lady vote for you?" drawled Lucius.

"No, I shall be the one to place my vote; however, seeing as she is much more eloquent than I and is much more up to speed with current matters of politics. She will act as my speaker," Tom said with regal finality before taking his chair.

"Very well," consented Lady Amelia Bones, her eyes lighting up at the possibilities that a new uncorrupted party could bring about.

"Does House McKinnon have any other concerns they wish to address before this meeting picks up wind?" Dumbledore asked dutifully.

"No sir," Carina (Hermione) replied before sitting at the right hand side of her 'uncle'.

The meeting progressed without event. It seemed the only thing they seemed preoccupied about was Harry's trial on Friday. They spent the entirety of an hour deciding who would be attending and who would be preside it since Dumbledore had assigned himself as defense. Carina maintained an emotionless face, observing everyone in the room. Avery, Malfoy, and the toad lady Umbridge, she assessed were the ones who seemed more than a bit threatened by her presence.

By the time they went back to the manor, they had already been approached by Malfoy, Avery, Umbridge, Lady Longbottom, Lady Bones, Lord Abbot, Lord Diggory, and the Black proxy, who happened to be none other than Andromeda Tonks. It was quite obvious that all but Andromeda had been trying to see what side the McKinnons would be on, but Carina was more than capable of gaining their sympathy whilst not committing to any side at all. All in all, it had been a successful meeting. Their presence at the trial was insured and they had stirred up the Wizengamot quite a bit for having only spoken a few words.

Next chapter is the trial.. that'll be much better than this *virtual pinky promise*

Anyways, please review! ^_^


	17. Potter Trial, McKinnon Intervention

**A/N Hey y'all! Long time no read. (okay sorry that was lame, but I had to) Anywho, here is the next chapter, and it's edited. There are portions that are directly from the Order of the Phoenix, by JK Rowling (I'm not trying to take any of the credit)**

**A special thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited! I love you all. You motivate me to update ^_^**

**Oh and I would like to apologize for not replying/ thanking y'all for reviewing individually, like I usually do. I should start doing that again soon... once I'm all caught up :D **

**Okay enough of my babbling, enjoy!**

**Hermione's POV**

_Ministry of Magic, Potter Trial_

"Presider of the trial: Lady Augusta Longbottom. Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Undersecretary to the Minister. Court scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley-"

"-Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore," said a quiet voice from behind Harry.

If this had been Harry from a few weeks ago, he would have turned his head so fast his neck would have snapped. Now, however, he remained impassive, keeping up his occlumency skills, creating a much more poised image of himself. Luckily, Papa Tommy had gotten the notice of the trial's time change yesterday, and he had let Mr. Weasley know. Merlin knows how bad the situation would have been if Harry had shown up late!

"Well, then. So. The charges. Yes. The charges against the accused are as follows: That he did knowingly, deliberately, and in full awareness of the illegality of his actions, having received a previous written warning from the Ministry of Magic on a similar charge produced a Patronus Charm in a Muggle-inhabited area, in the presence of a muggle, on August the second at twenty-three minutes past nine, which constitutes an offence under paragraph C of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, and also under section thirteen of the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy," Minister, bumbling idiot, Fudge stated in a faux regal, gravelly voice.

And so the trial began. I was glad both he and I had taken to occlumency so quickly. Between Umbridge and Fudge they were trying to completely discredit him, and it was really grating on a nerve. Luckily, however, they were not getting very far. Harry kept calm and confident, just as Moony Remy and I had discussed with him before he left. Madame Bones seemed quite impressed with Harry's proficiency with the patronus charm.

"Very convenient, isn't it boy?" hissed Umbridge (croaked would have been more suiting for the damn toad-like lady, but she was a slimy, slithering, poisonous, obese snake, hence the hissing). I sighed internally. What a drama bitch, honestly.

"Enough, enough! I'm sorry to interrupt what I'm sure would have been a very well-rehearsed story-" said the puppet of the ministry, Minister Fudge.

"Dementors are under jurisdiction of the Ministry and had no business in Little Whinging. There is nothing to support this boy's lies," the she-toad spat haughtily.

"Madame Umbridge, if I may?" I cut in in a level voice that immediately commanded the attention of all in the room.

"Of course, Lady McKinnon," she consented with a bow of her head.

"I do not believe that such a _brutal_ questioning will get us anywhere. Such tactless and aggressive prying is hardly befitting amongst such distinguished individuals, don't you think. If Mr. Potter has not let anything incriminating slip, why not administer veritaserum?" I sniffed, disdainfully, adopting a posture of graceful superiority.

"Lady McKinnon! He is a-"

"Yes, a minor, _however_, he is, _also_, the last known and recognized member of the Noble and Ancient House of Potter. As such, he is entitled to _a few_ rights of an emancipated adult, since he _is _of _magical _majority," I interrupted calmly, my serene gaze scoping the room. "Also, it is not _befitting_ of a member of a _vessel_ _house_ Madame _Umbridge_ to slander the name of _any_ member of a _noble and ancient house_ without concrete evidence," I reminded the room, nipping any possible argument at the bud.

Toady had the decency to look ashamed. I smirked internally seeing Lords Malfoy, and Avery looking as if this was the last place they wanted to be at the moment, but still quite content with my defence of pureblood hierarchal rules. I was more than pleased to see that Lady Bones, Madame Longbottom, Mrs. Tonks, Lord Abbot, and Lord Diggory looked quite ecstatic with my suggestion.

_"Looks like I found my first political allies," _I thought happily.

"Any refutes?... No, very well," Madame Augusta asked. "Do you Mr. Harry James Potter accept the rights granted to you by your status?"

"I accept."

"Do you consent to the administering of veritaserum to give your account of the events?"

"As long as the questions are of reason and having to do only with matters concerning this incident, then I do consent," he replied calmly.

I was so glad he had advanced so much in occlumency. He had his emotions completely under his control, and it was definitely playing into his favor. I'm even gladder that he had actually listened to us when Nym and I had gone over how he should carry himself during his trial. I don't think I had ever been prouder of my brother.

"Of course, Lady Bones, along with Madame Umbridge and… Lady McKinnon," Madame Augusta decided, after scanning the room carefully.

"Is that wise, Lady Longbottom-" Lord Malfoy attempted to interrupt.

"-will compile an acceptable question list and you must approve of these questions before we administer the potion and proceed with the questioning. Is this acceptable?" she continued pretending Lord Malfoy had never spoken.

"Quite," Harry nodded.

I stood gracefully from my seat beside Papa Tommy and gathered in the center of the room with the other women. We swiftly compiled a list. Madame Umbridge was quite set to unveil "the boy's lies," however, Lady Bones and I shot her down almost immediately reminding her that we were only meant to compile a list of questions in regards to the dementor incident. We both shared smug smirks when we saw her demeanor change from anger to fear and back to impassive again. With a nod we solidified a silent pact between our houses. We would talk later.

"Did you perform underage magic knowing of its illegality on the second of August?"

"I did."

"Was the magic performed that day the patronus charm?"

"It was."

"Why did you perform the charm?"

"It was for self-defence."

"Can you explain the events that led to the use of the charm?"

"My cousin and I were in the midst of a heated argument, when suddenly the temperature dropped to near freezing levels. My mind immediately jumped to the conclusion of dementors. I ordered my cousin to run, but he didn't listen, so I had to push him forward and make sure we got as far as possible. However, they caught up to us in a tunnel. I tried to get my cousin to run away, but he was already getting too affected by the dementors. I could feel myself succumbing to their effects as well, and so I conjured my patronus and drove them away. Afterwards, Mrs. Figgs, a squib, found me trying to lift Dudley so we could get to safety," Harry replied in the monotone voice that left no doubt that he was telling the truth.

"Did Voldemort return that night of the final task in the Tri-wizard tournament?" the inflated toad blurted out before anyone could stop her.

"Yes," Harry replied, not having any other choice but to answer with the truth.

"Madame Umbridge, you are hereby suspended from your post as Undersecretary to the Minister until the day of your trial for having knowingly and deliberately interfered with questioning under veritaserum," Lady Longbottom dictated.

"And violating the rights of the Young Lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter," Madame Bones finished with a deadly glare.

"I believe it would be best if she were to leave the trial room after swearing under a wizard's oath that she shall not reveal the specifics of what has happened here today," I suggested, looking down at her with disdain (like a true pureblood with their wands stuck up their arse).

"An excellent suggestion, my beautiful Lady McKinnon," drawled Lord Avery, his eyes sweeping my form appraisingly.

"Thank you, milord," I replied, bowing my head slightly. "Lord Malfoy, would you care to do the honors?" I asked looking directly at the white-headed bastard.

"Only if milady writes a suiting oath," he replied silkily, smiling suavely.

_"Dear Godric, you'd think they were trying to get into my knickers with the way they're acting."_

"Of course," I consented, moving to write a satisfying oath.

"Do you, Dolores Jane Umbridge, hereby solemnly swear upon your magic that you will not attempt to slander the name or image of any person here in this room, nor repeat, discuss, or twist anything that was said in this room in any detail," Lucius Malfoy drawled in his silky voice, his smoldering eyes not straying from me.

"I, Dolores Jane Umbridge, do hereby solemnly swear upon my magic that I will not attempt to slander the name or image of any person here in this room. I will not repeat, discuss, or twist anything that was said in this room in any detail," she repeated quietly. This was obviously not how she had expected it to go.

"So mote it be," Lucius said with a nod.

"So mote it be," she repeated, bowing her head as the magic of the oath settled.

"You are excused, Madame Umbridge," Lady Longbottom said.

Once the toad left the room, Lady Longbottom and the Minister (grudgingly) apologized to Harry for the "inconvenience." Afterwards, the vote took place and Harry was unanimously declared innocent. I felt a prod in my mental defenses, and my eyes immediately flew to Dumbledore. I raised my chin with as snootily as I could before responding.

"I would appreciate if you would keep out of my mind, Mr. Dumbledore," I said in a cold drawl. As I had realized, I commanded the attention of a room more efficiently than Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall, so everybody heard what I had said.

"Of course, forgive an old man, my mind tends to slip in my old age, milady," Dumbledore said softly, bowing at the waist.

"I do not want half-witted excuses, _Mr._ Dumbledore. You know, as well as I, that that cannot possibly be the case. Now, there will be no repercussions this time, but do not expect me to be so _tolerant _next time," I drawled lazily.

"Of course milady," he said softly, before sweeping out of the room.

I saw Avery and Malfoy smirk at Dumbledore's retreating figure. They may not be absolutely sure of what side I was on, but they definitely liked me now. I had just put the person they hated the most in their place. I was glad to see that Madame Bones, Lady Longbottom, and Lord Diggory were smirking happily as well. Looks like they didn't like the leader of the light very much either.

"Lady McKinnon, I fear I must apologize," Lord Malfoy said as he approached Papa Tommy and I as we were exiting the room.

"Apologize, Lord Malfoy?"

"Yes, I am afraid I judged you too readily, milady, but I am happy to say that you are most definitely not just a beautiful face. You were gifted with incredible intellect and cunning," he said huskily, leaning into me slightly, not too much to be inappropriate, but enough to make his interest in me clear.

I felt Papa Tommy tighten his hold on my elbow. I saw him lift his chin, challenging Lucius's brass move. With what I'm sure he thought was a sexy smirk, Lucius backed away slightly. With a kiss to my knuckles and a nod of his head to my Papa Tommy, he was gone. I held back a smile as Papa Tommy all but whisked me off to a tower and locked me up. He dragged me away from prying eyes and even flooed with me back to the manor, where I finally burst out laughing.

"What in the bloody blazing inferno are you laughing about lass?"

"Yes, I would like to know, Mia of mine. What could have possibly happened in the damn trial that you're busting your guts?" Dragon drawled, effectively sobering me up.

"It's just my dear Uncle Tom is probably fighting the urge to lock me in a tower," I said smiling, my voice full of mirth.

"Why would that be?" he asked raising an eyebrow in Papa Tommy's direction.

"Well, I wouldn'a been so tempted if that bastard had kept his distance, honestly, he's married and much too old for ya lass. Not to mention Avery! Merlin! You'da thought 'e was a randy teenager, the way 'e was lookin' at 'er!" Papa Tommy ranted darkly, his magic beginning to swirl around him. "And it wasn' jus' 'em either! No, every single damn male in tha' room couldn' look away!"

"Oh, honestly," I huffed, crossing my arms across my chest. Now, he was just exaggerating.

"Lass, the fact that you don' see how beautiful you are, don' mean everybody else can' either," Papa Tommy muttered, before saying he needed a drink. A drink that was promptly provided by a house elf.

"Thank you," I said kindly, seeing that neither Draco nor Papa Tommy made a move to acknowledge him, before he could pop away. He stared at me in awe, before breaking out a wide smile.

"Anythings fors the mistress, Mistress Mia," he said bowing deeply, before scuttling away, his excited squeaks sounding through the house.

"Mistress?" all three of us chorused.

Once again that memory at the back of my head niggled at my consciousness, but it wasn't yet time. I knew it wasn't time to remember. It was nearly time, but not quite.

"Never mind," I sighed. "Anyways, we've got about an hour before I have to head back. I'll change and then I can do a quick little assessment of Draco's teaching prowess, and then we can discuss our observations, yes?"

I dashed up the stairs and changed into the light summer dress I had come in. I was heading to the living room when I heard them.

"You shoulda seen the lass. I don't even know what side we're on, she's so good. She's got them all entranced. She got 'arry cleared, and she's got just about all 'em wrapped around 'er lil' pinky," Papa Tommy chuckled.

"_All_ of them?" Draco asked, making the atmosphere quite tense.

"Yep, I would say Lords Malfoy and Avery, especially, would be _more _than happy to comply to my wishes, if I were to ask them," I laughed trying to dispel the tension.

"That is not a laughing matter, Hermione," Papa Tommy growled.

"Papa Tommy, don't worry about it, alright? They know better than to try anything against my will," I cooed kissing his cheek, just like I used to do before. I admonished myself, realizing what I was doing. I couldn't let myself slip like that.

_"What was I thinking? Oh, that's right I wasn't," _I thought grumpily.

…..

"So let me get this right. You expect an invitation to tea with Madame Bones and possibly Lady Longbottom?" Papa Tommy repeated incredulously as Draco stared at me in awe.

"Yes, most possibly, we had a sort of silent agreement," I replied, looking over to the grandfather clock. "Shite! I'm late. I was supposed to be back fifteen minutes ago!" I exclaimed panicking, jumping up.

I hugged Papa Tommy and told him to keep me posted on any and all "pureblood business."

"Take care, Mia," Dragon said ushering me to the fireplace.

"You're doing really good, Dragon," I said, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek.

_-BACK AT GRIMMAULD-_

"What the hell?! Who is this Sirius and where the _fuck_ is Min!?" Nym raged when I flooed into Sirius's room.

"Should have transfigured myself back at the Manor," I muttered to myself, waving my hand over myself, transfiguring my hair and eyes back to that hideous brown. My hair regained its wild nature. Merlin, how I missed my crazy curls!

"What the hell!? I swear if you did anything to Min, I will personally tear you to pieces!" Nym continued. Judging by the amount of magic that was gathering around her, she was just barely containing herself from killing Uncle Siri.

"Nym, calm down, I can explain," I said softly, effectively distracting her, and making her eyes snap back to me.

"You two better start explaining. Now," she commanded.

"Well, um the only reason you noticed I was gone was because I was stupid enough to be late," I admitted, sending Uncle Siri an apologetic glance.

"I'm sorry. I should have been able to keep her out for more than twenty minutes, but the damn chit is hard to stop when she gets her mind set on something," Uncle Siri grumbled.

"Why, thank you, dear cousin," she said sweetly, before turning to me again. "Explain, before I start hexing," she growled.

"No, need to be so damn moody. Unc-Sirius could you put up the strongest privacy and silencing wards you can think of in a sphere around us?"

"Sure thing Angel, oh so great one," Sirius smiled, taking his time putting up the wards. I bit back a laugh as I saw Nym's hair coursing through all the shades of red existent. She was **_angry_**.

"Well, as you know I was at the Cauldron before coming here," I said the second he was done. "What you don't know is that, in my time there, I got really close to Tom. He's like the grandfather I never had, and I his granddaughter. While there, we eventually reached the decision to have him retake his rightful duties as head of the Ancient and Noble House of McKinnon. Of course, he insisted that I take on another identity as Carina McKinnon to help him with all those matter, so this was the second time I used the time-turner to attend these meetings."

"Okay…" Nym said slowly, trying to process everything. "Well, I'll give you that it was very well thought out. The only reason it didn't work on me was that I sensed your aura disappearing completely for more than ten minutes and that could only mean that you were dead or gravely injured… next time, I won't freak out like that. If ever needed, I could cover for you around here, if you're running late, alright?" Nym said once she had calmed down.

"Thanks, oh and it'd be great if you didn't let this accidentally slip either…"

Nym nodded her acquiescence. I nodded my thanks, feeling my eyes fall out of focus. I really needed to get my magic unbound. My restricted core really made it hard to adequately use my gift. Nonetheless, I thanked the wind for the warning. Harry would be arriving in less than a minute and it wouldn't do to have him looking all over the house for me, and have everyone in the house looking for me.

"Harry will be here in a minute. We need to head to the kitchen now," I said, promptly walking to the door.

I could tell they were confused, but followed me quickly without question. I sensed people at the base of the stairs, so I started talking to make sure that we didn't raise any suspicion for being gone for so long.

"Honestly, Sirius, I don't see the big deal. It's just a bit of harmless flirting," I scoffed, winking at Nym.

"Not to mention watching you all squirm is quite _satisfying_. Besides-"

"Fred and George started it!" I finished.

"You two are bloody impossible! Just behave yourselves when everybody else gets here for the meeting tonight, alright?" Uncle Siri muttered.

"No promises," we chirped, sending saucy winks at George and Fred.

They left behind a very red-faced Ron as they walked towards us with identical predatory grins. We were really becoming really close. Nym, Fred and George were the only ones that actually hung out with me. Uncle Siri cursed under his breath before leaving us with the boys; he didn't seem very comfortable with our flirty friendship with the twins. The second Uncle Siri was out of sight, just before the twins could start their onslaught, Harry flooed in, closely followed by Mr. Weasley. Nym and I sighed in relief. The twins were really putting forth their best flattery, and it was really getting hard for us to not blush at some of the things they did and said. It was no mystery how they had most of the Hogwarts female population melting at their feet, hoping for a chance.

"How'd it go?" I asked, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Great! We should talk about it over lunch though. I'm starving!" Harry laughed.

…

**Narrator's POV**

"Aww, I think wittle Hawwy has a cwush on Pwincess McKinnon," teased Tonks.

"I do not!" Harry exclaimed, nearly choking on his pumpkin juice.

"I wouldn't be so sure," she sing-songed.

Harry and Hermione were devising ways to murder the Metamorphmagus. He was her brother for Salazar's sake! The McKinnon lady had reminded him way too much of Hermione to even think of her like that! They were both disgusted, hence the murderous thoughts.

"She was like a blond, tamed-hair, pureblood version of Hermione!" Harry defended.

"So sexy as fuck-"

"Brilliant and powerful?" the twins teased, grinning lecherously at Hermione, who was barely able to suppress a blush, that was just no.. too embarrassing, _way _too embarrassing.

"Must you be so crude?" Hermione sniffed disdainfully, going full pureblood princess mode, causing the twins to blush.

She and Nymphadora burst out laughing at their embarrassment. They weren't even trying that time! Unknown to her, Harry had been watching her very closely, and was finding it extremely peculiar that Hermione and the Lady McKinnon could have been twins if it weren't for the eyes and the hair.

_….. A few hours later…._

"'Mione, can I talk to you," Harry asked quietly, interrupting her most maniacal murmuring with Tonks.

He truly pitied the twins. Hermione on her own was unstoppable, but it seems she had found a kindred spirit in Nymphadora Tonks. Both of the together put the twins' advances to shame. Harry was sure that a prank war was not far off, seeing that the twins weren't getting very far with their flirting. He had to hand it to them; however, they were very insistent. Maybe they'd get somewhere with Tonks.

He knew they didn't have a chance with Hermione. She cared much more about Draco than she wanted to admit. Harry knew she was still holding just about everybody at an arm's length, but he could tell she was getting better. He was sure that it was Tonks who was helping her with that. She knew about her childhood, didn't treat her differently, and was still a fun, female friend.

"Of course, Harry what's up?" Hermione chirped.

"Alone, maybe in the library?" he suggested.

"Erm, sure," she said unsurely.

This could not be good, she thought. Harry had a serious expression on his face, and that only meant one of two things: anger or trouble. For once, she actually wished it was trouble. She definitely didn't want him angry at her. It would make everything so awkward. It's not like they'd be able to avoid each other. The house was only so big.

"So, do you have anything you would like me to know, 'Mione?" Harry asked brightly as he cast privacy wards.

"Um, well did you know that acromantulas can live for a little over a hundred years, and their eggs hold approximately a thousand offspring? Hippogriffs are prideful creatures who protect each other and all those who have earned their respect with their own lives. Werewolves have a dual-personality of sorts and possess incredible archaic lunar magic if they can accept the man and wolf can accept each other. Not to mention that they have three prospective mates, and as long as he/she doesn't claim one of them and they aren't dead he/she can sense them if he/she feels that their mate could be in any kind of trouble. They are also known as children of the moon because the moon considers them so. An-"

"Hermione," Harry warned.

"Yes?" she asked innocently, her eyes wide.

"I swear to Merlin if you don't start talking…"

"Alright, then where was I… oh right, and merpeople were once some of the most powerful magical creatures in existence until the Royal Creature saw that they were terrorizing all other magical creatures the Royal Creature decided to take away their beauty and a large portion of their magic, saving it for those he consi-"

"Hermione Jean Granger, you will start talking or else I will-"

"You will what Harry James Potter!? What do you think you can do to me? I swear to Merlin, Boy-Who-Lived or not I will hex you to hell and back only to maybe have pity on you and only send you back to hell so you don't have to deal with me!" she yelled, her hair snapping into her natural color, flaring with flames.

Harry gulped. He hadn't meant to piss her off, but she was being so _annoying_. He was sure she knew what he was talking about. She wasn't daft after all, far from it actually. She was hiding something, _again_, and he was getting sick of it. She, along with Remus and Sirius, had been working him into the ground with all the occlumency. He couldn't even have nightmares from how tired he was.

It struck him so fast and so hard that he was surprised his head hadn't exploded. There had to be more behind the occlumency than Voldemort. Not everything was about Voldyshorts and him. There was a lot more going on, and Hermione was one of the only people who knew just about everything that was going on at the moment. Hermione was probably more involved in all of this shit than he was.

"Test me," he blurted out.

"W-what?" she stuttered.

"Test my shields," he repeated. "If I can hold my own for a bit, and you think it's safe enough, we can talk about the trial," he proposed.

"Alright," she sighed.

Honestly, she wasn't sure how he would do. She hadn't worked with him since Wednesday, and she hadn't asked Sirius and Remus about how he had been doing. He had had a bit of trouble clearing his mind, but once he had accomplished that, he was learning at an incredible rate. Then again, with the ruthless techniques they had been using and the detailed coaching, it wasn't really too much of a surprise.

Harry didn't feel like he had _mastered_ the skill yet, but he knew that he was _decent_ at it. In any case, his magic was strong enough to force people out of his mind and break the connection. He hoped that his defenses would be good enough to have Hermione accept talking about _some_ of the things she was keeping from him.

Without warning, she probed his mind. She was surprised to find a thin mist soon 'leading' to a thin looking wall. She gave a few tentative pushes and found that while it did give easily, she found thicker mist, unlike the last lesson, and behind the mist there was another wall that was actually durable. It survived three small probes, five medium strength prods, and six short but strong stabs. All in all, she was very proud.

He would be able to hold his own in an attack as long as he wasn't alone with a skilled legilimens under constant attack. He would be able to keep them out long enough for them to retreat before raising suspicion. He, she decided, deserved to know what she was up to, some of it at least.

She gently pulled out of his mind, beaming proudly.

"Satisfied?" Harry asked teasingly, his body thrumming with happiness at the sight of her proud smile.

"Not bad, Mr. Potter. I must say I'm surprised by how quickly you've taken to Occlumency," she drawled snootily, a dazzling smile gracing her features. "You don't have impenetrable defences yet, but you are not too far off," she said encouragingly.

"Thanks, now, can we talk?" he asked hopefully.

"Harry, I know you know that I can't tell you everything yet, and I'm sure that you know about my facade already..." Hermione sighed.

"So you are her," Harry smiled.

"Yes."

"But, Mione, you are on our side, right?"

"I am against prejudice and injustice, yes," she replied carefully.

"I-but, isn't that the same thing as being on our side?" Harry asked confused, understanding that there was more to what she was saying.

"Let's not discuss that, alright? I am trying to seem irrefutably neutral, so I can stack up allies. That is the only way that I can get any power in that snake pit," she explained.

"You don't like Dumbledore," Harry said; it wasn't a question.

Hermione hesitated. This was the crux of this whole _thing_. She wasn't ready to explain everything to her brother, and her brother wasn't nearly ready to hear the whole truth. This was something that had to be broken to him slowly.

"I- uh."

"Don't lie to me 'Mione," he hissed.

"You're right. I don't like him," she confirmed. "But I will not tell you why. That is a tale for another time that should be given over the course of a few days," she continued firmly.

"Fine, then, what can you tell me now?" he acquiesced.

"Things will start looking up for us by Christmas and I'll be using the necklace to attend meetings throughout the whole year," she replied cryptically, knowing he'd understand.

His eyes widened in realization. He nodded tersely. Suddenly, he remembered something. Didn't she age with the time turner? He opened his mouth to ask, but apparently she had foreseen what he was going to ask.

"Yes, I do, but I take a potion every time after I use it."

"Oh. Well... er thanks for today, then," he said awkwardly.

"Don't mention it, Harry. I'd do anything for you. You're my family," she said softly, kissing his cheek.

She knew her words had meant nearly as much to him as they had to her, but she also knew that he had no idea how true it was. She smiled softly at him one last time before leaving him to his own devices.

"Princess!" Remus exclaimed, pulling her into hallway just before she could make it into the kitchen.

"Is there a reaso-"

"Your hair," he interupted, hissing, taking a lock of her still fiery hair.

Hermione cursed under her breath. She really needed to work on keeping her temper. She kept breaking through her charms and transfigurations. It wouldn't be a problem if Poppy were around. Her proximity would have kept her enchantments strong enough to withstand her now volatile magic. Maybe... it would work, but she wasn't sure if he'd be willing to. Well, it was worth trying, she decided.

"Kreacher?" Hermione called guardedly.

"Yes," Kreacher responded dryly, appearing in front of her. He eyed Remus waily, when he saw him glaring.

"Would you be willing to keep my hair brown so people don't... become suspicious?" she asked politely, slightly afraid of how he would react.

"Only hair or eyes too?" he asked gruffly.

"Um... I don't know, what do you think Kreacher?" she asked softly, her eyes sparkling with tears.

The Kreacher now still had a bit of the Krea then. The Krea that had taken care of Draco and her, when they were young. The Krea that would play with them, that would make them cookies, that would let them call him Krea because they couldn't say Kreacher. She didn't know what had caused him to change so much, but she was grateful that he was not completely gone. That he was somewhere below the surface.

"Kreacher keeps eyes and hair brown," Kreacher replied, snapping his fingers before disappearing.

**A/N Anywho, I hope you enjoyed it. Please review. Honestly, I am more motivated to update if you review.**


	18. Prince Charming

**A/N Hello all! I'm back. This is finally edited, so actual updates are coming up :D **

**Anyways, THANKS to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/followed. It really means a lot to me.**

**Narrator's POV**

_"McKinnon Princess in Court_

_The Ancient and Noble House of McKinnon made a smashing re-entrance in the previous Wizengamot meeting. After an unprecedented move, the Ancient and Noble House of McKinnon has been appointed a spokeswoman, a quite brilliant spokeswoman at that. Lady Carina McKinnon, niece of Lord Thomas Alexander McKinnon, has proven just how clever she is at the Potter trial yesterday, making quite the impression at Young Lord Harry James Potter. Lady McKinnon certainly proved to be quite the catch: young, beautiful, clever, and single. It is no mystery why she received more than a few very interested, appraising looks."_

Sirius, Remus, Hermione, Tonks, and at Malfoy Manor, Draco read Rita Skeeter's article gobsmacked. Her article went on highly praising Carina McKinnon's talents and presence. Hermione flushed at the litany of flattering comments she received. She had known she had made a good impression on all sides of the Wizengamot but she hadn't thought that she had made such a pronounced impression on the media as well.

_... Malfoy Manor..._

"You called for me father?"

"Yes, you will accompany me to the next Wizengamot meeting," Lucius said not looking up from the parchments he was looking at.

"Yes father," was Draco's reply before exiting the room.

He rolled his eyes knowing exactly what that was about. The Daily Prophet had made it more than clear that Carina McKinnon, his Mia, were the ideal wife for any man that could catch her fancy. Undoubtedly, his dear father wanted him to see if he had any luck with Lady McKinnon. He had to write to Mia about this.

_"My Dear Mia,_

_I know I only saw you yesterday, but I truly do miss you sorely. I swear it has only gotten worse since you fell ill, I wonder why that is... Anyways, I'm getting side-tracked._

_How have you been? Are the twin weasels still drooling? I must say I pity them, Mia. You are much too appealing for people's sanity. I expect they'll be shipped off to St. Mungo's insanity ward before the summer is out._

_Oh, before I forget, congratulations my beautiful, charming, brilliant celebrity._

_Missing you loads,_

_Your Dragon_

_P.S. See you at the next meeting."_

...

Hermione smiled as Poppy delivered the second letter her Draco had written her thus far. She thanked the kind elf that had agreed to deliver their correspondence. A wide smile graced her features as she read his letter.

She felt the insane urge to break out in a fit of giggles. The more practical side of her was quickly adjusting all her plans to have Draco accompanying and wooing her be beneficial to their objectives. The emotional side, however, was hoping she'd be able to have him accompany her to more than just meeting and tea with the Malfoys. She, for some crazy reason, was running through ways to surprise him and drive him spare.

She couldn't have her emotional side overriding her logic and ruining everything. He would woo her, but she wouldn't overtly succumb to his advances. It would keep "suitors" away, while not alienating anyone, and appeasing the Malfoy lord and his supporters.

_"My Fierce, Dear Dragon,_

_I miss you infinitely so as well. I do have a theory but I have yet to do some research, and for that I need to make a trip to Flourish and Blotts._

_Anywho, you are just terrible! You should pity me, not them. I'm the one who has to suffer through their exuberant flirtations. I'll have you know that some of them are down-right embarrassing. If they do end up in St. Mungo's it'll probably be from Nym and I slapping them senseless for their crassness._

_Anyways, I expect you'll soon be as well-known as I, even if you don't get a title... I don't think it would be wise until Yuletide. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to the next meeting more so now._

_Oh! How has he been doing? Do you think he'll be ready come September?_

_Missing you just as much,_

_Mia"_

...

Draco smiled and quickly penned (quilled) a quick note

_"Mia,_

_Has taken to it quickly. Should be done come the last of August._

_Dragon."_

**-O-**

**Draco's POV**

_day of the meeting... _

I was going to be sick. I didn't know what to wear. My palms were sweaty. My stomach was swirling, and my mouth was dry. I was nervous, no doubt about that. I knew it was ridiculous to be nervous, but I wanted this to be perfect. She deserved perfection.

Everything had happened so fast. One day we were growing up and playing together, the next we're ripped apart. We don't see each other for years, and, then, when we finally see each other, we're friends one moment and the next we're at each other's throats. Then after years of being "enemies" and fancying each other from afar, we bump into each other and BAM we're together. No words of dying devotion and endless love, no romance, no first dates, nothing.

Not that I was complaining, not at all. I became the happiest man on the earth the second she said she was mine, but she deserved more than that. She deserved romance and to be wooed and swept off her feet. She deserved it all, and this was my chance to do that. I wanted this to be perfect. She deserved nothing less, so I had to make sure that it went perfectly. I would have to be just as or even more charming than her, so that I could get into all of her possible alliances' good books.

_...at the meeting, but after it..._

"Lady McKinnon, a pleasure," I said gallantly, locking my eyes with her blue ones and pressing a soft kiss to the back of her hand. She blushed slightly. I smiled softly, practically hearing her curse herself for blushing.

"Young Lord Malfoy," she replied politely.

"Draco, please, Milady," I replied.

"Very well, Draco. Lord Malfoy, a pleasure as always," she said with a polite nod of her head.

I fought the urge to kill my father as I saw the glint in his eyes as they trailed over my Mia's form. His smile was absolutely predatory. Beside him I saw Nott and Avery come up beside my father, their smiles matching his. I saw Papa Tommy tense behind my Mia.

Now, I understood the whole reaction from the last meeting. They wanted her. Thank Merlin my father was content with letting me "claim" her. Hopefully that would keep the other bastards at bay. There was going to be a bloodshed if they laid a single finger on her.

"Lords Nott, Avery, enchanted. Now, if you sirs will excuse me. I believe Madame Bones and Lady Longbottom are awaiting," she smiled, with a nod of her head she made her way to the two women who had watched the exchange.

**-O-**

**Hermione's POV**

Merlin did he have to be so bloody charming? I was trying to fight off my blush, but I knew I hadn't succeeded completely.

"Young Lord Malfoy," I replied politely.

"Draco, please, Milady," he said smoothly, making my insides flip-flop.

"Very well, Draco," I consented after taking a breath so I didn't sound as breathless as I felt. "Lord Malfoy, a pleasure as always," I said sweetly trying to ignore the way he was looking at me.

I glanced behind his shoulder and immediately wanted to run. Lords Nott and Avery were looking at me as if I were a tender steak they were just waiting to pounce on. Maybe Papa Tommy wasn't exaggerating too much. I immediately started looking for a way to get away from them when I caught Madame Bones and Lady Longbottom looking at me worriedly. Bingo! I sent a silent plea at them with my eyes. I almost smiled when they waved me over. I could kiss them right now!

"Lords Nott, Avery, enchanted. Now, if you sirs will excuse me. I believe Madame Bones and Lady Longbottom are awaiting," I smiled politely before making my escape.

"I owe you ladies one! Those snakes looked as if they were ready to eat me whole!" I gushed once I reached them, not bothering with proper pureblood decorum. They started giggling like a couple of teenage girls. That was certainly unexpected, but not at all unwelcome.

"Oh dear, they aren't the only ones!" Lady Longbottom said once she had herself under control.

"Yes, it seems Lord Malfoy is the only brainy one of the bunch. He brought his heir along before the other's had a chance," Madame Bones smirked.

"It appears so," I said as regally as I could, trying and failing to completely hide another blush. Damn it!

"Yes, he is quite charming," Lady Longbottom mused.

"and he doesn't seem to be like Malfoy senior at all," Madame Bones added thoughtfully.

"You mean besides the bleached hair and creepily pale skin complexion?" I smirked slightly.

"Precisely," they both grinned.

"You know, Lady McKinno-"

"Carina, please, or Mia, if you would," I interrupted.

"Very well, Mia," Madame Bones smiled softly. "But only if you call me Amy," she added impishly. I nodded

"Mia," consented Lady Longbottom. "And you may call me Agusta." I smiled softly.

"Now, I was hoping you would join us for tea tomorrow at noon?" Amy prompted.

"Of course."

"Great! My house, Longbottom Manor, you can floo there. I'm sure you'll just love to meet my Neville," Augusta teased smirking.

"Oh, I'll bring Susan and Hannah!" Amy piped.

"Poor Neville," I laughed, shaking my head.

He would be so uncomfortable around all us girls. He and Harry are at about the same level now, when it comes to being comfortable around girls... Then again, maybe the girls and I could work on him just like Nym and I are doing with Harry at Grimmauld. That would definitely be fun.

Amy and Augusta were looking at me as if I had grown a head. Shit! It had sounded like I knew who Neville was. Well, I do know him, but _this me_ doesn't/shouldn't know him.

"The poor boy will be surrounded by just girls!" I giggled.

"Well...I'm sure he can deal with it for a few hours," Augusta shrugged.

"Here comes Prince Charming," Amy sing-songed looking just behind my shoulder. Her face dropped slightly, "along with the cavalry and the three thieves," she muttered.

"Do I have time to run?" I squeaked.

"Merlin they are disgusting, they might just pounce on your backside. The dirty bastards," Amy grumbled. "There practically shagging you with their eyes," she spat. I grimaced.

"Old enough to be your father, all of them," Augusta sighed, disgust marring her features.

Amy started talking about her pride and joy, Susan Bones, her niece, as we waited for them to reach us. I felt a lingering tap on my shoulder. I took a deep breath before putting on my most charming smile and turning.

"Lord Avery, you wished to speak with me?" I asked courteously.

I fought back the impulse of burning his hand, which had trailed down to my arm and for some idiotic reason stayed there, off.

"Lord Avery, I do believe you are overstepping your boundaries. Miss McKinnon is a lady. You have gotten her attention. I do not believe that the physical contact is necessary," Draco said cooly.

"Thank you Draco, much obliged," I said gratefully, as Lord Avery took a step back and smiled a sickeningly sweet smile.

"My apologies, milady. I only wished to extend an invitation to tea with my wife and son tomorrow at noon?" he asked formally.

"I am afraid I must decline. I have a previous arrangement," I Merlin they had invited me to tea!

"Another time then," he said.

"Of course...j-"

"Just let me know, Lord Avery and I'll be more than happy to escort Lady McKinnon," Draco cut in smoothly, stepping closer to me.

"Yes, that would simply be lovely!" I exclaimed. "If it's no problem of course," I backtracked softly.

I lowered my eyes, looking at Lord Avery through my eyelashes. The effect was instantaneous, his eyes glazed over slightly. I smiled at him disarmingly and I forced myself to blush slightly. His mouth fell open, and Lords Nott and Malfoy along with most males in the room started fidgeting uncomfortably. Oops... that may have been _a bit_ too much.

"Lord Avery?" I asked softly, breaking them all out of their stupor.

"Oh, no trouble at all," he said hoarsely.

"Much obliged Lord Avery," I nodded, dismissing them.

"Of course, milady. I'm afraid we must take our leave," Lord Avery said, taking the hint.

Lord Avery took my extended hand and pressed a lingering kiss to the back of it. I smiled politely as Lords Nott and Malfoy gracefully followed suit. Then, it was Draco's turn. He merely smiled, bowed, pressed my knuckles to his forehead gently, before straightening, his fingertips holding mine.

"We will be in correspondence, Lady McKinnon?" he asked.

"Mia, if you please," I smiled bashfully.

"Very well, we will be in correspondence, _Mia_?" he asked again, his voice dripping with charm.

I suppressed the urge to sigh, even as I heard every other female in the room sigh dreamily, Amy and Augusta included. Those women were going to be the death of me! They were more girly than I was and I'm the teenager!

"Of course Draco," I replied, my cheeks tinted pink. Papa Tommy smirked at me as the Lords took their leave.

"I'll be having a few words with the Black's proxy and Lord Diggory," Papa Tommy said before leaving again.

"Looks like Prince Charming is more than willing to salvage your honor," Amy smiled wistfully.

"He's a keeper," Augusta agreed sagely, eyeing me knowingly.

"I only just met him," I protested.

"But he's so perfect," they sighed in unison.

"You two are grown women," I sputtered indignantly. "He could be your son for Godric's sake!"

"And yet you're trying to get us to back off."

"Seems like you're already as possessive of him as he is of you."

"That so wasn't fair," I pouted.

"But it was effective," Amy countered.

"Just like what you did earlier," Augusta added, her eyes glinting mischievously.

"I must say that was absolutely brilliant! They were putty, completely and entirely at your every whim!" Amy gushed excitedly.

"Merlin help me with these witches," I groaned.

"Oh, pish posh! We're the only females besides Andromeda over here! We have to stick together!" Augusta exclaimed.

"Oh will Missus Tonks be joining us for tea as well?" I asked surprised.

"Most definitely. Maybe she can get Nymphadora to come over as well?" Augusta mused.

"I'm sure she will. She'll have Mia here to use as bait," Amy smirked.

**-O-**

**Nym's POV**

_later that day at Grimmauld..._

"No!" I screeched at my mother.

When had she even gotten permission to come here? How had she gotten the secret? Ughh! This was terrible. I wasn't going. I was _not _going! I didn't want to go to a damn tea with the prim and proper pureblood princesses. Shouldn't I just be exempt for being lucky enough to be born a halfblood?

"Nymphadora," she warned.

"Don't call me Nymphadora!" I whined, slumping onto a chair petulantly.

"Hey Nym!" Hermione chirped.

"Min! My saviour! Tell her I can't go!"

"Um... Mrs. Tonks, I suppose?" Min asked. She nodded with a smile.

"Well, it's an absolute pleasure. I'm Hermione. Now, what is this ruckus about Nym. You should be ashamed of yourself," she chastised with a small smile playing at her lips.

"It's not a ruckus! It's the sound of me trying to reason with my mother," I countered.

"Oh because you were being absolutely logical in your reasoning. Pray tell what was your argument," she teased.

"Traitor," I muttered.

"I think you should go to the tea Nym. I heard that Carina's going to be there," Min whispered in my ear.

I took a deep breath. I was going to regret this. I was bloody going to regret this. Damn Min. I couldn't say no to her. She would probably give me the damn puppy dog eyes she gave the twins to get them to cover for her, so she could go into the library... and when she got them to read Hogwarts, A History.. and to promise to complete the _whole year_ and _actually _try on their NEWTS... You just couldn't say no to her. Bloody hell!

"Fine, I'll go..." I grumbled. "But I'm wearing casual robes," I added when I saw the gleam in my mum's eyes.

"Oh alright..." she conceded.

"Yes!" I celebrated.

_... Nearly Noon at Longbottom Manor the next day..._

"Oh Neville went out to the greenhouses. He should be back soon enough... Susan and Hannah couldn't come," Mrs. Longbottom said.

I pouted petulantly. I was bored! Sure it had only been about... three minutes, but Min wasn't here yet, and I couldn't even have some fun with Neville because he wasn't bloody here either! Merlin, I knew I was going to regret this.

"Oh Augusta, I think it would be just perfect if we invite her Prince Charming to tag along. At least that way Neville won't feel ambushed by females," Madame Bones said.

Helga, it was so strange seeing her be normal. It just wasn't natural. This whole situation just wasn't natural. Lady Longbottom and Madame Bones looked so... alive and giggly and happy. I shuddered. Hell even Mum looked freer than before. What the hell was going on? And who the hell was 'her' and 'her Prince Charming'?

"Prince Charming?" my Mum asked. Thank Merlin _I_ didn't have to ask!

"Oh yes, well you saw the new addition at the meeting did you not?" Lady Longbottom said giving Mum a meaningful glance. What was with all the mystery!?

"Oh 'Dromeda you should've seen! The way he looked at her. He made _my_ knees go weak!" Madame Bones squealed. She actually squealed, _excitedly_.

"I know! Even I was a quivering mess!" Mum interjected. I felt my jaw pop open.

"Oh not to mention how he got Avery to back off! Put that slimy git in his place, he did!" Lady Augusta huffed.

"But she didn't even giggle! She wasn't affected at all!" Mum argued.

"She tried not to _show _it... _but _she couldn't help but blush. Oh, they would fit together so perfectly!" Madame Bones gushed excitedly.

"They're meant to be... I can feel it, Andy, dear," Lady Longbottom agreed.

I felt like my eyes were about to pop right out of their sockets. Whoever this 'her' was, had already changed all of them. Salazar, she was either extremely cunning, or had bewitched them all! I wasn't really sure how to feel about that... This was incredibly amusing, but it was so, so, so _strange_.

"Oh, she must be here!" Augusta exclaimed happily.

"Thank you Kippy. You're very kind," I heard a gracefully imperious voice say kindly.

I wanted to see who it was, but my back was to her. I couldn't very well turn in my seat, just to look at her, but I really, really wanted too. Patience, I must have patience.

"Oh, Miss Mia be very nice. Very pretty too, didn't thinks Miss be's so pretty! Me likes Miss Mia very much!" Kippy, one of the Longbottom's house elf chirped happily.

Bloody hell! She had just bloody gotten here and the damn elf was happier too! Who was this Miss Mia AKA 'her'.

"Why hello Ladies!" she chirped happily, with a bright smile on her face.

"Min?" I gasped as Madame Bones and Lady Longbottom exclaimed "Mia!"

Thank the founders no one had heard me, but Merlin! I was not expecting 'her' to be _her_! This was the first time that she was as bubbly around other people. I was used to her being bubbly around me... and the twins, but that was it. Wow! She really was quite the actress. Was she just bloody brilliant at _everything_?

"Hello, Mrs. Tonks, I suppose?" she asked regally with a perfectly raised eyebrow.

"Pratty Pureblood Princess," I coughed.

"And you must be _Nymphadora_!" she replied brightly. "It's an absolute pleasure Nymphadora! And you Mrs. Tonks!"

"I'll kill you!" I hissed, preparing myself to lunge at her, but stopped at the glare Kippy was sending me.

I shivered. Damn, who knew Kippy could be so scary? Shit, she might actually kill me!

"Oh, Lady McKinnon, call me Andromeda, or Andy, please," my mum said with a smile. Andy!? She hates being called Andy by people who aren't close to her!

"Only if you call me Mia," Min smiled.

Dear Merlin! She was so so charismatic, and chippy, and happy...and it was contagious. She was like a Miss Congeniality! Founders, even I felt like being all girly and happy and shtuff!

"Now, as I have gathered, you don't precisely like your name, correct?" she asked in a soothingly bemused voice.

"Yep! I'm pretty sure my mum was vamped up on pain potions when she decided what to name me," I chirped, causing them all to laugh. I dodged my mum's swat to my head.

"Would Nym be a suitable pseudonym then?" she asked smiling.

"Hmm... Nym... I love it!" I beamed. "Thanks Rina!"

"Rina?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yep," I replied popping the P. "Anyways, who is this Prince Charming, they were giggling on about?" I asked waggling my eyebrows, eliciting a whole new round of giggles for the ladies and a deep blush from Min/Rina. Interesting... very interesting. Opportunity for blackmail noted!

**-O-**

**Hermione's POV**

"Nym, please, stop," I pleaded.

"No! He's my cousin! We're going to be family!" Nym squealed.

"Morgana! You're just as bad as them! It's not like I'm marrying him!"

"Not yet," all of the chorus.

I glared at them before seeing my saving grace.

"Neville! Thank Merlin!" I exclaimed rushing to his side, grabbing his elbow and dragging him over to us.

"Err... no offense... but... who are you?" he asked uncomfortably.

Shit, I slipped up. Again! I released him, but not before seeing Nym's teasing grin, Andy's amused smile, and Augusta and Amy's suspicious eyes, raised eyebrows and set shoulders.

"Lady Carina McKinnon, pleasure to meet you Young Lord Longbottom," I curtsied, with a shy smile. "I must apologize for my rather crass behavior seconds earlier. I was in quite a rough spot earlier and your appearance was quite welcome and I may have overstepped quite a few boundaries with my overzealous behavior, and I apologize," I rambled, biting my bottom lip while trying to calm myself before I went barreling straight into Hermione mode. It was a miracle I managed to keep my posture... Then again I had practice, years of it.

"No need to apologize milady," Neville replied politely, pressing a sweet kiss to my hand, his questioning eyes not straying from mine.

"Thank you, Young Lord Longbottom," I smiled, breathing in relief.

"Call me Neville or Nev please," he asked.

"Alright, Nev, but only if you call me Mia or Rina," I smiled again.

"Mia... Rina... I think I'll go with Rina," he said politely. "Mia reminds me too much of a friend of mine... Your rambling earlier too and the lip biting... Oh 'Mione would be proud," Neville mused out loud, well _pretended_ to muse. His eyes had that knowing glint in his eyes.

"'Mione? She sounds positively lovely. Is she your girlfriend?" Nym giggled waggling her eyebrows at him. Oh, I was going to kill her!

"No!" he exclaimed. "N-not that she is-isn't absolutely brilliant and lovely," he added nervously, glancing at me apologetically.

Merlin I was going to kill them! Honestly! Could they tear down at my guise any more? Could he make it any more obvious!? I looked at the others and saw that Andy still looked amused but Amy and Augusta were scowling at me now. I rolled my eyes and huffed defeated. I took my seat glaring at Nymphadora and Neville. I was going to hex them into next year, when I had the chance.

"I suppose you're wanting an explanation, I take it?" I said taking a sip of my tea.

"Yes," Augusta answered curtly.

"Ah veritaserum, how very slytherin of you. Slipped it in the second I dragged Neville over Miss Director of the DMLE?" I said sarcastically, trying to control my temper. I took a deep breath. "Fortunately for me, you were a Hufflepuff in your day. It's a good thing Hufflepuffs are all about fairness, don't you think? And, I do so believe it's only _fair _that we all have a heart to heart then, don't you?" I said offering the tea cup to Nym who immediately took a sip.

She passed it to Neville, who didn't hesitate either. He, then,passed it to his gran, who looked at the cup as if it had personally offended her. Neville, however, was having none of that and gave her a piercing glare until she took a sip. The other two quickly followed suit, seeing that they didn't very well have an option.

"What are you planning to do?" Andromeda asked calmly.

"Set a common ground, so I'm not at a disadvantage. What was the purpose of having this tea?" I asked the three older women.

"We wanted to know you better," Andy replied.

"We wanted to know who's side you were on," Augusta added.

"And have a light, pleasant conversation over tea," Amy finished.

"Why bring the veritaserum along?"

"Yesterday... you made it seem like you already knew Neville, and it made us suspicious," Augusta admitted.

"Not to mention that you called the Lords snakes... and it just seemed like an allusion to Hogwarts, but Carina McKinnon never went to Hogwarts... we would have known, so something wasn't adding up. It was a precaution," Amy rambled.

"Very well, I am afraid I cannot answer any of your questions without risking it leaking so I'll just take my leave. I can assure you I am not on the dark side," I said primly standing up.

"Min you can't just leave!" Nym protested.

"What's so secret that you can't tell your closest friend?" Neville asked hurt.

"Things from the past that were never meant to be unearthed," I answered through gritted teeth. "Things that need to be set right, but the knowledge of these things must be safeguarded," I finished, feeling beads of sweat accumulating on my brow due to the effort it took to resist the urge to spout everything.

"We all know occlumency here. You can tell us," Nev said softly, his eyes still shining with hurt.

"It's not that I won't tell you Nev. It- This is just really big."

"What does Draco have to do with you?" Nym asked suddenly.

"He's my other half," I blurted. "Shit...I-I need to go," I stuttered.

"I solemnly swear on my magic to never willingly divulge the information Hermione is about to tell me or anything related to it, to never discuss it anywhere where it could be overheard with anyone who doesn't already know, and to protect it using my occlumency to the best of my abilities," Neville blurted.

"What have you done Nev?" I gasped.

Nev merely squared his shoulder and adopted a stubbornly confident posture. Damn Gryffindor traits.

"I solemnly swear on my magic to never willingly divulge the information Hermione is about to tell me or anything related to it, to never discuss it anywhere where it could be overheard with anyone who doesn't already know, and to protect it using my occlumency to the best of my abilities," Nym repeated confidently.

"You're mad!" I exclaimed. "You haven't even known me for that long Nym. I could be working for Voldemort for all you know!"

"Neville and Tonks trust you, that says more than enough to me," Augusta said sagely before repeating the oath as well.

I would have to tell them. The_ 'about to tell'_ that had been thrown into the oath had practically ensured my compliance. Soooo hexing Neville the second I get onto the express, noted.

"Besides we felt we could trust you from the first time we saw you," Amy added before taking the oath. Andy immediately followed suit.

"Are you all crazy?" I groaned into my hands.

"Not that I know of," they all replied in unison.

"Mione," Nev said softly putting a hand on my shoulder. I opened my mouth to protest, but he beat me to it. "No, don't deny it, and don't you dare try to do this alone. You always do, and yes you do it excellently, but you don't have to, and that's something that you and Harry seem to not understand. Now, tell us," he finished.

Damn it. He basically crushed any of my possible arguments. He was right. Of course he was. He never said anything without being completely sure of what he had to say. He always knew exactly what to say and how to say it when needed.

"They aren't going to like this one bit," I muttered, feeling my insides contracting painfully.

"Who?"

"Uncle Siri, Moony Remy, and Dragon," I sighed.

"Who are you?" Amelia asked without preamble.

"Hermione Rhea Potter," I answered closing my eyes, feeling them well up with tears.

It made all the difference in the world to say it out loud like that. It made me want to break into sobs as I curled up in a corner in a fetal position. It felt real, more real than before. This was my acceptance, and I felt lost. I _missed _them. It felt like the memories that had been numbed for so long, had been torn and brought to the forefront of my mind. I wanted them back. I wanted my Daddy, and my Mum.

The tears must have been falling freely without me noticing because soon enough I was pulled up into strong arms, and then cradled carefully into someone's lap. I opened my eyes only to see Neville's worried eyes on my face. His thumbs tenderly brushed away my tears. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I willed myself to stop crying, unsuccessful for the most part, but still better than the sea of tears I was just seconds ago.

"I thought you were dead," Augusta choked. "Wh-"

"No, wait. Don't ask, yet. I need to know something first. Do you particularly like Albus Dumbledore."

"Not in the least," all three grown women answered grimly.

"Why?"

"He took down the wards protecting Frank and Alice the second they were under attack," Augusta growled. "I barely had time to get Neville out."

"He led us all away from the house the night my brother, Edgar, and Anne-Marie were massacred," Amy hissed, tears running down her face. "He made sure we were all separated when he decided to pick us off. Every. Single. Bloody. Time."

"He wouldn't tell us what happened to Sirius's little boy, Marlene, or testify against the rat Pettigrew, and he didn't even do anything to get Sirius a trial," Andy muttered.

"And the Diggory's?" I asked levelly, even though I was so angry I could feel my magic spasming again, fighting against its bonds.

"They despise him. He-Well, Cedric had an older brother, and he could have had a little sister," Amy sniffled. He was my godson and he took him from us. He tore us down. Tore at us all!" Amy roared.

Dear Merlin, he had torn at the strongest, left them vulnerable and hurting. He had destroyed more than I had originally thought. I couldn't believe it, yet it made so much sense. It made so much sense, I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it before. How had I not seen it before?! That bastard!

I stood and started pacing, desperately trying to burn off some of the energy that was threatening to burst (if it wasn't already leaking out). He was such a-a gah! There wasn't even a word to describe a being so heinous!

"I'm going to murder him. I will murder his reputation, then I'll take everything from him, make him suffer, have him begging and then I'll torture him until he's begging for death, and then I'll finally watch my sweet little flowers strangle him and keep him in place as I incinerate him," I said with a sadistic smile, picturing his demise.

The rest of the world was a blur, unimportant. Everything was muffled and a blur. I tried to bring myself back into focus.

"She's on fire," Amy whimpered.

"I always had a feeling she was an earth elemental," Neville said in awe.

"Is she doing all of this?" Augusta asked.

"Morgana, no one can know," Andy whispered breathily.

"Min! Yo, hot-head! Chill out! You may not burn, but everything else can! And stop making the earth quake!" Nym snapped, pulling me completely out of my murderous mood.

"Sorry," I muttered. "I... can I-I need to-"

"I'll take you to the greenhouse," Nev said understanding what I needed. "We'll continue this when we get back."

**-O-**

**Neville's POV**

The earth had stopped trembling the second Tonks had snapped at her, but the flames and raging winds were another matter entirely. I watched in awe as the air stilled and the flames surrounding her abated the instant she set foot in the greenhouse. I had never seen anything like her. The pull I felt towards her suddenly made sense. She wasn't simply an earth elemental. She was _the earth elemental_. She didn't have to think about what she was doing. Her abilities were an extension of her, a part of her. I mean it had to be. There was no other way the plants could comfort and welcome her like that.

I watched as her anger ebbed away. I lost myself in thought as I drank in her form. She had just as much allure as a sodding veela, but with another kind of beauty, a natural, powerful beauty, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. She was just so mesmerizing. Suddenly, she laughed. My eyebrows furrowed, trying to figure out what was so funny.

"What's so funny?"

"They were wondering how long it would take you to start slobbering, but I told them you didn't see me like that. They wanted to know why. They didn't like my answer, and are trying to make me see reason by laying the charm on thick and spouting a litany of flattering compliments, which made me laugh," she giggled, her eyes glowing green. Weren't they blue... or brown? Hold on...

"Wait, _they_?"

"Yes, they are quite charming, especially that one. Honestly, the fact that you have touchy tendrils does not mean you are obliged to comment on a lady's curves!" she said slapping away the cobra lily that had been inching towards her tiny, curvy waist.

"You can talk to them?" I asked cautiously. I didn't know if she was just that bloody awesome or a bit on the batty side.

"Yes, can't you?" she asked sincerely curious. Okay, so not crazy. "Oh, I wasn't aware," she deadpanned, and don't call me that! It's rude. Weird and normal are subjective anyways," she argued glaring at the Tormentils. "No, you are not my servants! You are a part of me... Oh quite witty," she exclaimed with a roll of her eyes and another slap at a particularly grabby patch of star grass. "Well, I suppose that makes sense..." she sighed, looking gratefully at the venomous tentacula.

"What makes sense?"

"Apparently, I am so connected to the elements because I see my abilities as an extension of myself and not abilities that I can use and matter I can control, and apparently that makes all the difference."

"Why the disbelieving tone?" I asked confused. That reasoning actually made sense.

"It's always been like this. It didn't change or become like this at a certain point in ti-"

"Well, that just means you've always seen yourself as a part of nature not someone living in nature. I mean 'Mione, you've always treated everything and everyone as if they were your equal. You see the beauty in everything, even when others are blind to it."

"Thanks Nev," she blushed, pecking my cheek. "Oh, shut up!" she snapped, sending the Moondew a dirty glare.

"Ar-are they insinuating..." I left the question hanging, but her nod confirmed it. I sighed. "Look we can all see that she's beautiful, kind, brilliant, and incredibly mesmerizing, but I don't hold any romantic interest for her, anymore," I said glaring at the Moondew as well. "She's my best friend. Always will be, no matter what," I said looking towards her.

"Even if I'm not who you thought I was?" she asked me softly, her eyes suspiciously glassy.

"Always, no matter what," I repeated, wrapping her small form in my arms.

"You promise not to get mad at me?" she squeaked.

"I promise to be at your side no matter what, 'Mione," I said again. "Now, let's go inside. You have a story to finish."

She nodded and let me guide her back inside.

**-O-**

**Hermione's POV**

I told them _everything _about _everything_. This time around I didn't hide anything, not that I would be able to hide anything, if they asked the right questions. I knew that being raised by purebloods their poker faces and occlumency shields were top-notch. The second I started talking it was like a dam had been broken.

Everything I had discovered, everything I had gone through, everything I knew Draco, Harry, Uncle Siri, and thought Aunty Marly had gone through, and everything I planned to do, I told them. Granted, it was selfish of me. I knew exactly how heavy this weighed on the shoulders. They were good about it though, they didn't speak a single word until I had finished.

"Holy Hufflepuff!" Tonks choked out, causing me to tear my eyes away from my lap, where they had been throughout the entirety of my tale.

I was taken aback by the tears running down her cheeks. I blinked before looking at everyone else. Augusta's frame was shaking with silent sobs. Amy's face was red, her eyes shut firmly as tears leaked out the corners. Andy was pale, biting down on her fisted hand, tears streaming down her face. Neville, my sweet little Nev's face was ashen, pulled into a disgusted expression. He wouldn't even look at me...My heart clenched. I shouldn't have told them. I shouldn't have told them so much. It was too much. I shouldn't have been so selfish.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have. I- it was selfish of me. I'm sor-"

"Don't," Nev growled. "Don' .Dare," he hissed, his voice dark and menacing.

A pulse of sheer terror coursed down my spine as it hit me.

_-flashback-_

"Don't. Don' .Dare try to run, you little bitch," my "father" growled, throwing me against the wall. I whimpered.

"What do you think you're doing, huh?" he spat.

I remained silent hoping he'd go just go away. I knew it would be a bad idea to try to get out so soon after a beating, but I had told him I'd be there. I needed the money, and he paid really, really well.

"Answer me!" he roared.

"Nothing," I replied softly, fighting to keep the tears at bay. Bruises on top of bruises always hurt for so much longer.

"Liar," he hissed.

"I just wanted to go to the park," I whimpered.

"I swear, if you ever say anything to anyone, I _will _kill you." he hissed lowly. I nodded weakly. "Now, get out of my face," he sneered disgustedly. I didn't need to be told twice. I really needed that money.

_-end flashback-_

"Min! Min! Snap out of it!" Nym begged. I blinked twice, trying to process what I was doing in her arms.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, wiping at my now wet cheeks.

"Min, what happened?"

"Momentary weakness, it won't happen again," I assured them mechanically. "I have to go," I muttered to myself, prying myself from Nym's tight hold.

I felt my heart fall as none of them would look me in the eye. I understood. I should have expected it. I nodded, even though they couldn't see it. I took a deep breath, as I stood and squared my shoulders and lifted my chin.

"I understand. The tea was lovely, thank you," I said my voice calm, even if my heart was breaking. I still had my Dragon, I would survive.

"You're just going to leave?" Nev asked incredulously.

I blinked at him. Why was he even talking to me? Wasn't he too disgusted by my freakishness to even look at me not two seconds ago?

"You think we are disgusted by you... don't you?" Nym asked slowly, looking at me as if this were the first time. Something in my expression must have provided her with an answer. "It all makes sense now... I heard you, you know. I was going to my room. It was late... you wouldn't stop apologizing. You sounded so scared, so desperate, and I couldn't understand... I didn't even know what you had done, but still... it tore at my heart. I couldn't take it," Nym admitted tearfully.

"And you still talk to me? You can still bear to be within a two meter distance of my dementedness?" I asked incredulously.

"You silly girl!" Andy cried, standing and crushing me in a hug.

"Mia, we aren't disgusted by you. We are disgusted by what you went through, what those bastards did to you, but not you," Augusta said softly.

"Not you, Mia, never you," Amy affirmed.

"I'm sorry, 'Mione. I wasn't cross at you. I'm sorry I growled at you. I just hate him so much. How could he hurt you? How could he bear to lay a single hand on someone as beautiful and kind as you?" Nev said softly, pulling me from Andy's arms and into his own.

He cradled my face tenderly, making me meet his eyes. 'Always,' he mouthed before pressing a kiss to my forehead and each of my cheeks. He held me as I let the tears flow. This was the last time I would be crying over my "parents." All the people that mattered to me now knew my dirty history, and they didn't mind. I just needed to tell Harry and Papa Tommy I was a Potter and that Draco was Uncle Siri's son. Then, I would be completely ready to end the bastards aiming to destroy those I loved.

**-O-**

**Augusta POV**

I watched as my Neville held Mia/Rhea as she cried. There weren't any sobs; there was no self-pity, just tears and tears. I had no doubt that she was finally finding a bit of peace. Talking about things did that to you. It was liberating.

A peaceful silence befell the room as we all watched her eyes droop. Soon enough her body went completely limp in Neville's arms. He bent slightly as he pulled them into a chair and cradled her on his lap, running his hand through her fiery red locks.

I smiled wryly as I realized that it was the first time I had realized her hair was a different color. Andy, Amy and I exchanged amused glances, none of us had realized until now. I felt my eyes tear up. It was a wonder how she had been able to have such an emotionally charged conversation after her "demonstration" earlier, when her magic was on such a short leash. It was evident that the only time she slipped through the restraints was when she was extremely, extremely upset. I watched in wonder as her hair muddied and regained the bushiness Hermione _Granger's _hair was notorious for. I had no doubt that when she awoke her eyes would be brown again.

"We need to get her back to Tom," Tonks said breaking the silence.

My eyes strayed to the window, expecting to see the afternoon sun shining through the flowering trees, but I started panicking when I saw it was twilight. It had to be at least seven. Tom was probably having a heart attack.

"Oh dear," I fretted. "How are we going to get her there without waking her?"

"Missus Gusta... Kippy cans take Miss Mia ands Mister Nevy to's where's Missus needs," a squeaky voice cut off my fretting.

"Why are you so taken with Mia?" Tonks asked the question we were all wondering.

"Miss Mia be different. She be's special and nice," Kippy replied smiling fondly at the sleeping girl.

"Alright, can you take them to McKinnon Manor?"

With a nod of the little elf, they were gone.

**-O-**

**Draco's POV**

Papa Tommy and I had been pacing for the past hour. Where the hell was she? Had something happened to her? Surely, Longbottom wouldn't have let anything happen to her... Then again, he didn't know she was her. This had been too easy. I mean she had everyone eating out of the palm of her hand after making an appearance twice. I should have known better. Something had to have happened.

I was going to find her. I'd start at Longbottom Manor, and if she wasn't there I'd start looking at the more obvious and less desirable places. A soft pop stopped me on my race to the fireplace. I felt myself relax as I saw Longbottom with Hermione in his arms.

"Thank Merlin," I breathed.

"Don't you think you were exaggerating just a tad?" he asked with a smirk.

"No," I deadpanned.

"Sheesh Dragon no need to breathe fire," he teased.

"She told you?" I asked surprised.

"Yeah... things got a bit crazy at the tea, but everything's going to be alright. She's never going to be alone again," he blushed, smiling bashfully as he passed Hermione into my arms.

"She has more people by her side than she realizes," I smiled, looking down at her peaceful face.

**a/n okay so I hope it made up for the week of silence. Anyways, it's finally moving forward. I think I'm going to have a bit of Grimmauld before a bit of a time jump for the next chapter. Then it should be back to Hogwarts.**

**I hope y'all liked the chapter! Please, please, please, PLEASE review! Reviews make me happy and a happy writer=more inspiration and better writing, which = happy readers, so in the end it works out better for us all if y'all review ^_^**


	19. Wrath, Wankers, and Whining

**A/N I'm back! All previous chapters have been edited. Mission complete! You may want to go back and re-read, but not too much has changed. **

**Anyways, thanks to all who have reviewed, followed/favorited! ^_^ I love you all! **

**(1) Allusion to the movie The Parent Trap.. you know the camp card scene... **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. **

**Fred's POV**

"What's ickle little Ronniekins drooling over now?" I asked, eyeing the pool of slobber warily. That was just disgusting!"

"I'd say a chicken leg, but there's no food on the table," George sniffed distastefully.

"I'd say a pair of breasts but there's no Tonks or the hermione..." I said, not bothering to mask the longing in my voice when I said her name.

George didn't bother to hide his wistful sigh at the mention of Hermione either. We had both come to admit our cruel, woeful reality. That girl was going to be the death of every male being in the planet! She was just so... SO sexy... so powerful, alluring, intelligent, _beautiful_...

I had fancied her since second year. She had always seemed so innocent and vulnerable yet so strong and passionate. She was a walking contradiction and I loved it, loved her. I had planned to make my move this year, after she turned sixteen. Only George knew, but then _it_ had happened.

_FLASHBACK_

_"Which one of you will it be then?" Mum crowed. _

_"Mum, you still haven't-"_

"_-told us what you want-"_

"_-and so we decided"_

"_-we aren't letting you do anything"_

"_-until you tell us what this is all about"_

"_-and we agree before we choose_ if _we"_

"_-Decide to choose, of course"_

_"Hermione must be a Weasley and I want one of you to be her husband," she said with a dreamy, greedy smile. _

_"What?!" we both exclaimed in unison._

_"My little Ronniekins _obviously _deserves better so it has to be one of you two," she had said slowly as if we were daft._

_"Why?" I choked out, not believing that this calculating woman was our mother. I mean taking away our choice just like that, what kind of mother does that?_

_"Well, Bill and Charlie are out. They're too grown up and independent, and Percy has so much ahead of him," she said simply, with a shrug. _

_And then it clicked. I could tell from how pale George was that he had understood what my mother was implying as well. How could she? She had always boasted about how gifted she was with love potions and how useful they were, but still...this? This was wrong! How could she take away choice just like that. It really put things into question. Things that I'd rather not question, so I wasn't about to. I had already had one dream torn down. I wasn't about to tear down my whole life._

_"No. Who she marries-"_

"_-needs to be her choice, uninfluenced"_

"_-she's a great beautiful smart"_

"_-Young woman who doesn't deserve to be manipulated and practically raped!"_

_"We refuse! You can be sure that we will not be participating in this-this"_

_"-Dragon shite, which just so happens to be illegal as well as immoral, not that you'd care," Percy drawled, his eyes cold and piercing._

_"Percy," she gasped._

_"I just wanted you to know that I can't be a part of a family I'm ashamed of. Goodbye mother. If we ever meet again I can assure you it won't be because or for you," Percy growled, bags in hand._

_"Percy!"_

_"If we could follow, we would, but-"_

"_-we still have to attend Hogwarts for seventh year,"_

"_-but you can be sure that we will"_

"_-try to thwart your evil plots."_

"_-Ronald can't possibly be"_

"_-any worse for her"_

_And we left her there tears running down my face as my heart broke into little tiny pieces. I had waited so long for her, and I wouldn't dare have her, not when it meant hell for her, not when it meant that she would be in my mother's clutches, not when she was set on getting her claws on her. That had been the day I let her go before she was mine._

...end flashback...

That had been less than a month before I would have my personal restraints tested, a month before she got here. What was worse, George knew I would never try to have something more with her, and so he allowed himself to revel on his crush on her. Now, we were both drooling and wanting after someone we could never have.

But she was so funny, so witty, and so nice, and she was flirting right back at us! If that wasn't the definition of a keeper, then George and I weren't brothers and our dream wasn't to meet the Marauders and open a joke shop! Of course not becoming something more did not mean that we didn't want to be a big part of her life. We had befriended her in the time she had spent here, and let's just say that there was a lot more to Hermione than anyone could have ever guessed. She was so _vibrant. _She could light up a room without even trying, and we wanted to make her laugh and see her happy, and know all her secrets. We thought we were doing a decent job... well we knew she was hiding something, but we were pretty sure it was inconsequential.

Yet, now, we discover that the tiny secret we thought she was keeping was utterly monumental! And she had pulled it off right under our noses! We had always known she was brilliant but this was on a whole entirely different level. Hermione Jean Granger, brilliant, beautiful muggle born, had somehow pulled off being Carina McKinnon, stunning, sophisticated, pureblood genius.

How did we know? Well... We may or may not have played with our newly modified hair coloring charms while she was reading in the common room. We had loved the red, not our red but a vibrant almost blood red, on her, but I thought that the blond hadn't been bad, not at all.

"Carina McKinnon," Ron sighed. "She's so hot and she's rich!"

"And she probably wouldn't look at you twice-"

"-us on the other hand. I can assure you"

"-we'll have a nice long chat," we said before scouring the kitchens for some chocolate cake. Apparently, Lupin and Sirius had a thing for chocolate, and we didn't exactly hate the idea of chocolate haven. We could talk to her during tea time.

_... Noon at grimmauld.._.

We shouldn't have waited. We could have talked over cake or something. Now, we couldn't find her anywhere. We had even asked Kreacher!

"Miss Mia does not wishes to be found," was all he had to say and that hadn't been the least bit helpful. We had looked everywhere! Well not Ron's, Lupin's, Sirius's, or my parents rooms, but still!

"Where's Hermione?" I asked Professor Lupin, now Remus, casually as if we hadn't been running about looking for her everywhere.

"Have you checked the library?" He asked not looking up from the book he was pouring over.

"Obviously," I replied rolling my eyes.

"Ginny's?"

"Yep."

"Where's Tonks? I mean they're practically glued at the hip 24/7," George suddenly commented. _Hello, epiphany!_

"She went to tea with her mum," he replied.

"Did she take Hermione?" I asked, already suspecting the answer.

"She's not allowed to leave headquarters you boys know that," he said simply.

We, however, noted that he never answered the question. Unfortunately, he made it really really clear: stop asking questions and back off, or else. Lupin was too responsible to let something slip if he knew something... and he was too scary to piss off, so that left the only other approachable adult in the house: Sirius.

"Ohh Sirius," we called sweetly from outside his bedroom door.

"how may I be of assistance to my favorite troublemaking twins?"

"It's about Hermi-"

"And I'm out..."

"What?-"

"We haven't even-"

"-finished saying what we wanted"

"-your help for!" We exclaimed indignantly.

"Doesn't matter. I'm out. That girl is crazy scary and I don't want to be on her list of des-"

"Where is she?" I interrupted.

"Where is who?"

"Don't play dumb-"

"-where is Hermione?"

"Have you checked the library?" he replied nonchalantly.

"Yes and we've-"

"Checked everywhere so unless-"

"She's in Lupin's room for some reason-"

"She's not in the house."

"You two know she's not allowed out. She's got the same restrictions Harry does," Sirius shrugged.

George and I looked at each other, if anyone knew who was going in and out of the house it would be him, so it was time to pull out the trump card. I just hoped he knew, and we didn't get Hermione into trouble because that would be bad, really bad.

"Well that hasn't stopped her, has it?" George quipped.

"I mean she's even making public appearances," I added.

"How?" he asked, stepping aside to let us in.

George and I exclaimed another look, too easy. That had been too easy. What was he planning? ... And sure enough, now, we have a wand pointed at us, and he doesn't look happy at all. Shit!

"You know Padfoot, I'd have thought that people as smart as these two would have gotten the clue," Lupin practically growled as the door slammed shut.

Holy, fucking Merlin's watery shite! Not good. Sooo not good. Abort mission. Abort mission! But, Gryffindors charge. They charge! Okay, time to charge. You can do this!

"We just wanted to know how the hell she pulled off playing pureblood princess at the Wizengamot while not being missed here," I said in a not too shaky voice, if I say so myself.

"She's never been missing from here, so you two can skedaddle."

"Ah ah ah, she's never been missing from here _except for today_," George corrected.

We both gulped at the raised eyebrows of the two men. Maybe that hadn't been the best idea...

"We won't say anything. We just care about her," I ventured, trying to see if that would work better than our confrontational and casual method.

"No one outside of us will know, we promise." George added catching immediately into what I was doing.

"You're good, boys," Sirius said with a wolfing smile.

"But not good enough **(1)**," Lupin added with a feral grin. "So you'd do good if you'd keep your noses where they belong."

"Attached to your faces and out of other people's business," Sirius finished, twirling his wand between his fingers.

It certainly left things clear. Don't even try, or you'll find some body parts missing. We gulped, at their evil smiles.

"Alright fine, we were never here and we were never looking for her. We get it," we said in unison before high tailing out of there.

We ran to our room before deciding how to go about this. If we were going to uncover this we would have to go super spy on this. First, we needed to put all our information and suppositions together. Then, we'd need to come up with plans and go through all of them before implementing and carrying them out. Then, we'd need to actually go through with the plan.

"Okay so we know that Hermione has been leaving to the past two Wizengamot meetings and Harry's trial. We also know that she's arina McKinnon. She has the ability of going pureblood princess and everyone eating it up as if it were manna from heaven..." George started.

"So we know that she's a good actor, which means that she's as sneaky as a Slytherin, which implies that we're dealing with a mastermind... Brave, brilliant, and cleverly sneaky. She also had Sirius and Lupin on her side, which could mean that-"

"Harry might be onto her, but it would be too risky to ask him since ickle Ronnie has been glued to his side since he got here except for Harry's 'bonding time' with Lupin or Sirius, but this also means that,"

"There must be something bigger going on here. I mean she's getting mixed up in politics without anyone but those she's absolutely positive she can trust knowing. Sadly, we may be too close to the problem to see what we're missing, so we may need some back up that's independent from the wicked witch of the west, as Hermione so kindly put it once and the white-bearded bastard as Percy so delicately phrased it not so long ago..."

"Time to call in the older brothers I say," George beamed.

"I dare say you're absolutely right Gred dearest. I've got the address,"

"And I've got the quill and parchment!"

"Then, I'll go fetch us our trusty bird!"

"I still can't believe we didn't think to use Ravens before! Bloody birds are dangerous!"

"Not to mention inconspicuous and brilliant..."

With that, we got to writing...

_'Dearest brothers of ours:_

_Attached to this note is an address, please read it and memorize it and let midnight send it to the next person (Charlie please burn it after you're done.)_

_Now onto the more serious matter. We need an outsider's view on something. Could you please come for breakfast tomorrow? Please! We really need your eyes and mind. We have a feeling something big is brewing but we're a bit too close_

_Thanks a ton,_

_Gred and Forge.'_

**-O-**

**Sirius POV**

"They're not going to give up just like that," I sighed.

"No they won't, but if they blow this for my Princess, they won't live to tell the tale," Remus growled.

"I still can't believe they caught on so quickly! What do you think tipped them off?"

"I heard Harry laughing with the twins about how she hadn't even noticed they had tried out their hair color charms on her last year... And they were teasing Ron about drooling over a certain McKinnon. Maybe they tried blond and saw the picture in the _Prophet_ and connected the dots..." Remus shrugged.

"I suppose, but that was too easy wasn't it?"

"You haven't noticed, have you?" Remus asked bemused.

"What?"

"Fred has had a thing for our Mia since I was teaching her third year, and it seems that both twins now are quite besotted with her," Remus smirked.

"What the hell?! I thought they were just being nice and having that stupid flirt war!"

"Calm down, would you? At least we know that they won't hurt her on purpose." Remus, ever the voice of reason, said calmly, but he wasn't fooling me.

"You're just glad that they haven't taken to Tonks."

"That may have been a factor," he admitted.

"When are you going to make a move then?" I asked moving on.

Hermione could take better care of herself than we could. Right now, we didn't have a single clue as to what the hell the twins were going to do. Hermione, however, would already know exactly what they were planning to do and have their plans A-Z down to the T. She didn't need us.

"I just need to know if I have a chance," he sighed.

"Don't let angel hear you, she'd murder you."

"More like burn my bollocks off while she ties me down with rose vines," Remus laughed, cringing at the thought.

"I still don't understand how you're so different now, everyone seems to change when they're around her..." I mused.

"I don't know... I know I'm slowly getting better on my own, but around her it's like everything is right, like she's a portkey to where I'm happy about myself no matter what others could possibly think. It's like it's just you and her and she's the one you want to make happy. You just can't help wanting her to be with you or you wanting to be with her. At least... that's what I think she does to people... it's hard for me to distinguish since she's a mate... But she makes you be your best and your worst. She brings out your extremes and somehow it just works..." He said softly, his eyes glazing over, a soft smile gracing his lips.

"I've been such a jerk to her..." I admitted. He laughed.

"It's not that you've been a jerk. It's just that she brings out your protective side and before you remembered she was family, she was somebody that could have become Harry's Peter," Remus sighed.

"I still don't understand how she does it. It's not normal Remus! Is something wrong with her...is she like a Pandora's box?"

"What the embodiment of chaos?" Remus snorted.

"Don't laugh! I mean think about it... She's my son's mate whatever the hell that's supposed to mean. She's your best match for a mate. The twins are besotted with her, and according to Harry that Krum guy saw only her even when she didn't give him the time of day while all the other girls, a veela included, were more than willing. Then there's Ronal Bastard Weasley," I growled. "The way he looks at her is disgusting!" I snarled. I took a deep breath to calm myself. "She has more allure than a veela. Not to mention her... _abilities_... It's not normal. And have you seen how the house elves are around her nowadays? Kreacher said that Poppy, Dobby and a certain Winky stop by everyday to check on or talk about her. Is she sick or something?" I asked finally verbalizing what had been bothering me since the beginning.

Hermione was too good. She had always been too good, too smart, too powerful. Was there something wrong with her? Was that why she was so... HER? She was practically trouble waiting to happen, like undiluted chaos in gorgeous, irresistable wrapping

"Why don't we ask Kreacher or one of those house elves?" Remus asked me like I was daft. Well... maybe I was... just a little.

"Kreacher."

"Yes, Master Black?"

"Kreacher is something wrong with Hermione?" Kreacher's face immediately paled and adopted worried eyes and a slight frown.

"Miss Mia be sick?" he asked wringing his hands. _Er... probably should have phrased that better..._

"No, she's not sick. I was just wondering...why is Hermione different?"

"Miss Mia bes special," he said with fond smile. _Oh, because that answers everything!_

"How is she special?" Remus asked curiously. I think it's safe to say that neither of us had expected him to answer so vaguely.

"Miss Mia always be kind. She sees all same. She bes part of everythings and everything be part of her. Everyones wants miss Mia. She be special and everybodies bes wanting special. She remember now not but she's bes a remembering soon. For nows Wes be protecting her when she not bes knowing," Kreacher proclaimed.

"What doesn't she remember, Kreacher," I asked.

"Miss Mia always be nice to's all us. She bes very nice and save him. We's all be to helps her and her chosen," he smiled happily.

Out of nowhere, another solemn looking house elf popped in.

"Kippy? What you bes doing here?"

"I's meet Miss Mia today. She bes happy but then she drink tea and she be not happy. Hair like fire! Ground shaking! Missuses gusta, bones and Andy bes scared but mister nevy bes worried... Kippy knows not what do!" She wailed.

"Miss Mia be hurt?" Kreacher asked slowly.

"Kippy knows not. She be angry and then fire red and with fire. Ground shakes and plants be slashing. Water be boil and it be windy!" she cried, pulling at her ears.

"Miss Mia's powers be bound... She not be hurting anyone bad... She needs calm down is all, Kippy," he said sagely.

"But Kippy wants help Miss Mia... miss Mia look sad. She laugh but she be looking sad."

"She needs family, Kippy," Kreacher said sadly, sneaking a look at us..

"But we're her family!" Remus and I exclaimed.

"And you bes treating her bad!" Dobby, Harry's friend elf, cried popping into the room.

"N-"

"You, Mister Harry Potter's Dogfather, especially! You hugs mister Harry Potter sir. You talks to mister Harry Potter, you smiles at him, but you onlys talks to miss Hermi when she goes in and out house! You donts hugs or smiles at her! Mister wolf smiles and sometimes talks at hers but the only ones that bes nice to her be Missy Tonks and twinsies weasleys!" Dobby humphed, glaring at us.

"And Master Draco!" Chirped another female house elf that popped in.

"What about Harry?" I asked, grasping at any straws that could make me feel better about this whole situation.

"Potter boy take Miss Mia for granted and Weasel boy keep him away from Miss Mia. Harry Potter doesn't be noticing. He no see Miss Mia be sad, but Miss Mia see him happy, so she be happy seeing him happy, even if she not liking Weasel," Kreacher grumbled.

It was true, I realized. It was no wonder she wasn't opening up and trusting us. How could she trust us? We knew we were family, but we all took her for granted. I had caught a glimpse of the angel I had known before, and then went straight back to seeing her as the braniac Hermione who was going to and had already freed me.

She was even more lonely here than with the bastards. There at least she was busy working for loads of people that actually valued her hard work. Here, however, she was surrounded by those she could consider her "closest friends/family" yet she was nearly ignored. The ones that actually paid attention to her and took time to be with her, for something other than her brains, were the ones she hadn't been that close to: Tonks and the twins! How could we have done that to her? How had we come to expect her to give so much and give so little in return.

"Master Sirius, I knows what yous and mister Wolfie bes thinking but she not bes angry or sad about it. She's not even bes noticing. She's be happy that she's having people to call hers. She bes happy that yous bes happy and smiling. She be happy to bes dying if you's cans all have smiles on yours faces."

"That bes why she's having Master Draco to's complete her. He bes only one who's be seeing her and only her. He bes the only one who sees she bes deserving everything and be wantings to gives it to her. He bes the only one who's can makes her happy cuz he never bes forgetting bout miss Mia, the girl who needs love too." The female elf that had popped in last said tearily.

The other elves just nodded in agreement. How had we been so selfish? How had we forgotten about her? Sure, I had ordered Kreacher to tell me if she was eating daily, but I never asked how much she had eaten, or what she had eaten or how many meals she had a day. I certainly hadn't made sure that she had eaten myself. If it hadn't been for Kreacher telling me that she ate, I wouldn't have known or cared. What the hell is wrong with me?!

"Master Draco bes calling!" Squeaked Draco's elf Poppy before popping away.

"Harry Potter's dogfather and mister Wolfie should bes more nicer to miss Mia. She be's a strong, good, and great witch but she be hurting, you sirs should bes remembering that, no matter how real her smiles be looking," Dobby said solemnly before popping away.

"Master Regulus been same, hurting and no one be noticing. Kreacher no want miss Mia to be same," Kreacher said seriously before popping away as well.

Shite, shite and triple shite! Am I so self-absorbed that I lost myself a brother and am well on my way of losing a daughter/niece? Have I never been able to get my head out of my arse?

"Sirius... It's getting late... Wasn't it just a tea and maybe lunch?" Remus said, looking out my room window.

My eyes widened as I saw the setting sun. She should have been back hours ago. What if something happened to her? What if she had drained herself magically again? What if it was more serious this time? What if I would never get to make it up to her?

The female house elf that had gone back to draco popped in, successfully interrupting my panicking.

"Master Draco sends Poppy to tell Sirius Black sir that he wills be going to Longbottom Manor to look for Miss Mia. He says to tells yous that he bes sending Poppy once he bes finding her," the elf, Poppy, recited before popping away with a slightly hostile glare in our direction.

"Winky be helping Poppy," the last female elf to have popped in announced before popping away.

That should have been us. We should have been looking for her. We should be the ones helping. We should have kept tabs on how late it was. I should have sent Kreacher or flooed the Cauldron or McKinnon Manor. It should have been me. I would make it all better as soon as I saw her again. I just had to.

**-O-**

**Neville's POV**

"Were you just about to floo to the manor?" I asked Malfoy incredulously. The wards on the floo would have fried him for even thinking to floo into the manor without a direct invitation.

"Yes," he replied simply, looking at Hermione with so much devotion and was that love? Great, how could I possibly hate him now? I couldn't hate the guy who had tormented me so much for being friends with the girl on the receiving end of that look. When he looked at her, he saw her, and only her: the most wonderful, perfect being in the world.

"You do know what would, most likely than not, have happened to you, right?"

"I live in one of the darkest manors you could possibly live in, of course I was well aware... I just needed to know. She had been so sad and then angry and then sad again and it was driving me crazy!" He exclaimed, his eyes taking inventory.

"Don't worry there's not a single scratch, though I must say that some of the vines _were _getting a bit grabby, but other than the veritaserum and her temperstorm she's returned in the same condition," I joked.

"Thank you," he said earnestly. "I know you love her as the sister you've never had and how important she is to you, so this means a lot," he said seriously, his eyes unwavering.

I felt myself blush, this was so awkward. Too intense, man, too intense. It was like he was seeing through me.

"I haven't always seen her as a sister," I admitted.

"I know... Not many can really actually see her as a sister... She's got this.."

"_Pull,_" we finished together.

"I know what you mean... I think Harry has been the only one to always actually see her as a sister, and now I know that's because she actually _is _his sister," I laughed dryly.

Talking to him wasn't too bad... I could definitely get used to having the ferr-er... dragon around.

"Are you taking her to Sirius's?"

"No, I don't think I'll be able to let her go anytime soon. She nearly scared the magic out of me, not to mention I have to give her a nice long lecture on how she shouldn't worry people and at least have the decency to check in," he huffed, trying to look angry but failing. I smiled amused.

"Hermione on the receiving end of a lecture! That's a new one," I snorted, picturing Hermione being scolded by Draco Malfoy (well technically Black) no less!

"Wouldn't be the first time... Anyways, is my Tonks still at yours?" He asked.

"She should be," I nodded.

"Could you tell her to Hermione-fy herself and floo to Sirius's to tell him and Moon-Lupin that she's alright and should be flooing back before breakfast?" he asked politely.

I nodded before flooing back to the manor, and set everyone at ease and tell them what I had seen. Officially, any hopes that resided in the very depths of my heart had well and truly been banished. They really were perfect for each other.

**-O-**

**Nym's / Tonks' POV**

I hadn't even properly gotten out of Sirius's personal fireplace before I was engulfed by a familiar mass of shoulder-length black curls. What the hell? Wasn't I still in Hermione mode? No one but the twins and I ever hugged or got close to Hermione. I recalled, because that was what had really struck me when she told us everything.

She wasn't the least bit angry! She just took it as if it were completely natural... Well to her I guess it was. Give, give, give, slave away, don't get or do anything for yourself, that was what her entire life had been, even the times she remembered as a Potter (on a much lower level of course). What was wrong with them all?! And now, I'm here getting a bone-crushing hug from a man whom she'd do anything for, especially since he was the father of the one she loved, her other half, had always longed for, but wouldn't do the same for her.

It made me hate myself too. I didn't know if he was hugging Tonks or Hermione, but either way I was receiving it and not her ( the one who actually deserved it!) and I felt like a shitty person for depriving her of this. I hadn't really thought much on the fact that no one really payed attention to her but us. And that only made me even angrier. She had always been there for one Harry James Potter (before she could even begin to guess that Harry was her brother), and yet he never really talked to her or sought her out outside of the half hour she spent with him some days, in the library, and even then they were (according to what she told us today) just working on occlumency!

Those bastards! All of them! They all treated her like shit, like a walking brain at their beck and call. At least, according to what Nev told us when he got back, Draco actually cared for her. He seemed to only have eyes for her. He would treat her right. Then again... it was to be expected with them being soulmates and all.

I pushed away from Sirius, once I recovered from the shock, and did something I had never thought I would do before: I slapped him. And like a rubber band, my temper snapped. I felt my metamorphmagus abilities slip from my control. This was going to get ugly, oh well. The bastards deserved it.

"You have a lot of nerve Sirius Black. It takes her to be drugged with veritaserum, gone for nearly eight hours and pass out from crying for you to actually care and worry about her," I yelled.

"I have always cared," he snarled.

"My arse, you have! She's just the girl who broke you out, and is going to clear your name, isn't she?" I retorted.

"No she's not," he whimpered.

"Don't you dare deny it! That was all she ever was," I screamed not caring about the tears now rolling down his cheeks.

"Was?" He choked. "Please tell me she's not gone. Please don't tell me I didn't have time. Please Nymphadora, tell me I can still make it up to her. Tell me I still have time," he cried, falling into me sobbing.

What the hell? I went over what I had said and then it hit me. Ohhhh... I should probably tell him she's alive and with his apparent son.

"Sirius, you idiot, she's not _dead_, but you better sodding fix things with her you wanking bastard. That poor girl doesn't even feel left out. She feels sodding lucky Sirius! Lucky! Can you believe it?! Lucky that she has someone that she can always love, even if they push her away. Someone that's related to her through blood that she can't lose her connection to, no matter how much they can come to despise her.

"She feels _honored _to have helped the people her parents and brother had loved. And she's happy that she cared for them, even while she couldn't remember having loved them. And what does she get for that devotion? Nothing!

"A sodding dead fly probably gets more attention in this house than she does. And it doesn't matter to her. She thinks it's normal, understandable and to be expected. She doesn't see how wrong it is. She doesn't see how unfair it is. And she _still _feels she isn't doing enough, especially now," I sobbed like I hadn't been able to do earlier.

Somehow we had ended up on the ground in a heaping, sobbing mess. I hadn't even realized that Remus had come in. We were probably too loud. I really hadn't thought about that. Damn Black temper.

"Tonks, are you alright?" Remus asked me softly, making my insides melt slightly, before remembering that he was Moony Remy from Hermione's tale.

"Shouldn't you be asking about _Hermione_, but just in case you _actually _cared she passed out crying after giving a huge natural display, but she _should _be fine," I humphed, turning away from him.

"Oh come on Dora, don't be like that," Remus sighed, his breath on my neck.

Since when was he hugging me from behind? God damn it, this isn't helping me be angry at him. Think about Min. Think about Min.

"Remus stop it!" I snapped. "I'm trying to be angry at you here," I whined.

He chuckled, his chest rumbling on my back. Damn him. Stupid werewolf.

"Is it working?" he purred.

"You're an ass. I can't even think with you so close," I groaned. My eyes widened as I realized what I had said. "Damn it! Forget I said it. I shouldn't have. Oh Merlin," I groaned, covering my face with my hands. Why did I have to be so stupid?

"Do you mean it Dora?" He asked softly.

Wait, he wasn't pushing me away? He didn't even sound disgusted?! Oh, did I really have a chance with him?

"Why does it matter?" I whined, still not daring to get my hopes up.

"Because we would love to know if we have a chance with this mate of ours..." He purred in a voice deeper and sexier than I had ever heard before. Oh, founders this man was going to be the death of me!

"It might be a distinct possibility."

"A possibility?" he breathed in my ear.

"A definite possibility," I replied breathlessly.

"I'd say," Sirius barked.

How had I forgotten he was here? Oh that right, the same damn way I had forgotten I was supposed to be angry.

"Ugh! I'm still angry though! Now kindly step away please so I can finish my ranting without sobbing hysterically," I sniffed, pulling away from Remus.

"You two have some nerve! She deserves so much better, and she's stuck with you gits! I mean the twins and I are the only ones that give her the time of day, and Molly just treats her like a damn house elf! I mean, we can't possibly let her _dear boys_ do the hard work, or risk them getting bitten by a pixie!

But it's not like she's not used to it anyways! I still wonder how the hell she hasn't _died. _Making her clean all the worst places single handedly, the bitch!" I ranted.

"Hold on, wait what?" they both exclaimed.

"Oh you didn't know? Why do you think the twins are even _more _hostile towards Molly? Haven't you heard them arguing? She always tell them to forget it and that she's alright with it: _'hard work soothes the soul,' she always says_. I bet she just adds 'it's not like I'm not used to it,' every time as well," I huffed.

"But she never said anything," Sirius said.

"When she 'fell ill' did she ever cry out or say anything? Did she ever complain? As far as I recall she was just worried about Harry..." I countered.

"But-" Remus began.

"But she was dying and still didn't complain. She was still worried about everybody else. She didn't even care that she was dying, as long as she did what she could for those she cared about. Or how she was more likely than not completely aware of the fact that she was dying, and didn't give a single fuck! Do you wonder if ever, for even a second, she wished to welcome death, that maybe, just maybe, she ever even once regretted the fact that she survived. If I were to make a fucking guess, I'd say yes to the first but no to the second. Want to know why?"

"Please stop," Sirius begged, cradling his head in his knees as he rocked back and forth.

"No, you need to hear this. You need to get this clear. She's coming back tomorrow, and you two better have your shit together by then, or else you can forget all about me. I'll become your worst enemy, and I'll have the terror twins on my side. She doesn't deserve this shit. She's had to deal with enough of it. I can tell it breaks her heart to have her brother ignore her like that.

"She was probably better off not remembering. She would only have herself and Harry to live and sacrifice herself for. Now, she has to deal with all of you and fix all of your problems and make you all happy. She's going to bring down the devil and his demons along with the antichrist and his believers.

"She's hoping to help get the devil out of her brothers bloody head. She's hoping to find your long lost wife and get your name cleared, and give your son a family he can be happy with and proud of. He wants to get Remus in complete harmony with his wolf, not to mention get laws passed that could favor all werewolves. She wants to talk to greyback and get his wolf to accept his man and get the wolf harmonizing zen shit to reach all werewolves so that wolfsbane potion isn't necessary.

"Then, she wants to get Tom's business to run smoothly, so he can live his dream without risking financially ruining himself. Then, she plans to uncover the antichrist in front of all his believers little by little to then finally rip his reputation to shreds before killing him, even if she has to die in the encounter, which is another reason why she hasn't sodding completed the bond with him!

"She wouldn't want him to die as well. Of course, it doesn't matter that her not accepting the fact that the bond has been initialized is draining her. No, of course that doesn't matter! As long as she can finish what needs to be done or at least the bigger parts, then it doesn't matter.

"Don't you see? She sees herself as a means to an end. She hasn't really stopped to think about herself _ever_. The only thing she's done for herself is work herself to death to get out of her supposed parents house by the time she became of age. Outside of that, it's all about everybody else. Every single sodding thought! We need to make her see that maybe she doesn't have to die, that maybe she shouldn't be weakening herself just for a damn plan to go right, that she can have a life worth living, that she is very much loved and doesn't have to be strong by herself and that she isn't alone. We need her to see that this doesn't just weigh on her shoulders.

"Is that too much!? She deserves to live to love and love to live. And for some odd reason you two are important to her, and she _loves _you _despite _the fact that you ignore her very existence. This stops here and now. You will make it up to her. You will shower her in love and attention and once the time comes you will apologize but make sure that enough time passes so that she doesn't feel like you two are only paying attention to her because you feel bad for her, are we clear?" I finished, giving them a mother glare **[you know that look that moms have mastered. The look that feels like you will be damned to the seven fires of hell if you don't do what you're supposed to do...]. **

They gulped before nodding furiously.

"Good, now if you boys will excuse me. It's been a trying afternoon. Good night," I chirped, before pressing a quick kiss to their cheeks.

**-O-**

**Draco's POV**

She looked so beautiful, my gorgeous little angel... Princess. Yes that worked. She's my beautiful, gorgeous angel princess. Maybe I should kiss her and see if she wakes up, like that muggle princess story.

"Sleeping Beauty," she murmured in that beautiful voice that drove me crazy.

It was like sweet liquid ambrosia. I couldn't stop myself. Her lips looked so beautiful. She opened her mouth as if to speak but before she could utter a single sound, my lips covered hers.

Warmth coursed through my entire body. So much energy, I was going to implode. This was pure bliss. I moved my lips against hers, and the feeling intensified as our lips engaged in a dance as old as time. Tingles coursed throughout my body, getting stronger and stronger. This was magic, magic at its purest, and it was euphoric, almost as euphoric and beautiful as my Mia and kissing my Mia.

I could do this all day, everyday for the rest of my life. I loved this woman more than life itself. I was totally and completely hers, and I was the luckiest bastard to ever walk the earth because she was mine too. I pressed her harder against me, deepening the kiss.

And then it happened, we were overcome by the magic that had been flowing continuously through us. Love, trust, light, so much light, _so much magic_. It tangibly pounded into us. And then our world went black... well kind of...We were in Mia's mind... well mine too. Actually, it looked like a mixture of both, but at the same time it was different. It was so natural and perfect that it couldn't possibly _just _be a _mesh _of both our minds.

"You know sometimes I really, _really _hate you," she said breathily in an amused tone.

"You know you love me," I laughed.

"Yes I do," she replied wistfully. "_But_ this changes everything. It was all supposed to be over by the New Year and this wasn't supposed to happen until it was over," she sighed sadly, and then it clicked.

"Hermione Rhea Potter, tell me you wouldn't have," I pleaded.

"I wouldn't have done it purposefully," she mumbled.

"I would have died. Mia, I would have _died_."

"You wouldn't have died, if _you _hadn't started finalizing our bond," she humphed.

"And I bet you had it all planned, right. Get yourself killed fixing everything for everyone else and _leaving _me _alone _to _die_," I growled, trying my hardest not to yell.

I didn't know whether to be angry or hurt, but I think anger was winning out at the moment. I needed to take a deep breath. _Deep breath in... and deep breath out... _

"You wouldn't have been alone. I would never leave you to die. Everything would have been left in order... for the most part. You would have had your Da and Ma, and Papa Tommy and Moony Remy and Harry and possibly even a new Aunt Nym. You wouldn't have been alone, and you would have been able to move on. You could have found a beautiful girl who would love you at least a tenth of how much I love you," she murmured not looking at me.

My heart constricted. She really thought it would have been better like that. She didn't see that she was an _essential _part of my world. She didn't see how much she really meant to everyone. She didn't see how much the world would lose if we lost her, if _I_ lost her. I must have thought it out loud because she replied.

"I didn't know. I never thought I could possibly mean anything to anyone, Dragon. I was just supposed to be a means to an end. That had been the plan. I wasn't going to be missed. I mean how could I be missed, when I was always just in the background, another person in the crowd? The only ones that would have missed me would've been my kids and Mr. and Mrs. Richards, and even they would have forgotten about me soon enough. I would become just another babysitter, after some time," she said softly, smiling ruefully, but that smile wasn't fooling me now.

It hurt her to know that she wasn't really thought about. It hurt her to know that for most of the people she cared so much about she was _just there_. She was always there for them, and they never saw her unless they desperately needed something _only _she could give.

If someone else could help them or give them what they needed, she knew that she wouldn't be spared a second glance, if she was even deemed worthy of a first glance in the first place. That hurt her, yet it hurt her more to know that it hurt. She felt selfish. She felt like a terribly ungrateful person for wanting someone to care.

"I care. I know Nym cares. Neville cares. Hell, the twins care. Between you and me, I think they're in love with you," I whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Dragon, promise me you won't kiss me in here until I tell you," she whispered softly.

"Why?"

"It'll cause a reaction much like this but more concentrated. This was stronger than I would have thought it would be, so it probably got all the way to London... if people go all lovey dovey in the middle of the street, it's more likely than not our fault... anyways, back on track, it would be the final step to ridding ourselves of all of the restrictions we have.

I think we just had all of our mental bonds broken... He shouldn't have felt it, but our magical signature should return to its natural form after we kiss in here. It'll solidify our bond even further, but our souls won't bond and we won't be considered married-"

"-until we make love, I know Mia. I'm in your head remember?" I laughed hugging her closer.

"And I'm in yours," she smiled. "I still can't believe you love me as much as I do. I can't believe this is real, after so many years..."

"Well believe it Mia, because you're mine now."

"I always have been," she smiled burrowing into my chest.

"Nice to know my beautiful, gorgeous angel princess," I said holding her tightly against me. "Mia, is our bond going to be documented in the department of mysteries?"

"Not until we're marked as married, when we get tattoos like from the book. That's when our bond is completely finalized and solidified, when our souls come together causing a huge magical outburst," she said, showing images of the books she had read.

"So we aren't really bonded yet?" I asked.

"Yes we are... our lives have become intertwined, but the bonding of our magic, souls and body have yet to be completed. For now, any pain or emotions that I feel, you will feel and vice versa...and love potions now, especially, are more dangerous. Not to mention it'll be a lot harder to be away from you... Oh! Quick do you know uncle Sirius's address?" she asked suddenly excited.

"Yes I do!" I exclaimed surprised. "Do you think dad would let us sleep together?" I mused.

"I doubt he'll notice, Dragon," she smiled, rolling her eyes.

I felt my expression darken as my thoughts took a murderous turn. To kill or not to kill, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in nature to kill or torture into insanity.

"Er.. I mean it's not like you're going to be walking about... I'm going to have to see if I can share the room with Nym, instead of Ginny. I'm sure she won't be against it, and it should be possible as long as we don't get Mrs. Weasley involved..."

"Did you really delve into dark books just to read up on bonds?"

"Yeah... Just don't tell Tom. He'd freak! The Black Magic portion of the Black Library was loads of help, especially with Harry's horocrux situation...again just don't tell your Da. He'd probably kill me if he knew about the books I've read and the curses I had to get through to read some of them. I don't think he'd appreciate the extent of my knowledge, but anyways they all pointed to the same solution."

"A dementor?"

"Yes, it's the safest way, especially if we set up a corral of patroni around Harry so that abomination is practically forced out as the dementor sucks it in, but first I-" I gave her a dark look. "_Fine_, _WE_ need to go in to find the other ones. Once we know where they are we can call for help to get them..."

"I still can't believe you refused to remember that little bit of information. It would have been loads of help before!"

"Yes, well, I didn't particularly want to remember that the reason Harry becomes a horocrux control center thing was because I decided to make him my chosen for me being me. I mean only _I _would venture out into the forest, sneak my brother out and have a fit seeing how those wicked wizards were treating him and what they planned to do to him. It just wasn't fair. Taunting him, hurting him, and they were going to see what would give them more money, sell him or skin him!-"

"-and that's why he gave you the favor of his subjects and named you his princess," I interrupted. She was about to argue, but I cut her off. "And you didn't want it which is why he let you have a chosen since you could already understand and talk to most of them because of your elemental affinities."

"I still don't like it, but if it keeps Harry safe then I can deal with it, but I'm not treating them any different. They are all my equals and they always will be," she announced stubbornly.

We spent a few minutes in silence, when she started fretting. I hated her worrying. She worried much too much.

"Mia, you can't not tell him, you know that..." I said quietly, finding a thought I didn't quite like.

"It's just... I don't want him to feel forced into it, Draco. I don't really matter in his world. I'm the nag who makes him do things. I don't want him to see me differently just because I tell him I'm his sister. I'd be okay with him not knowing... I mean it's not like he'd be missing out on anything and as long as he's safe and happy, then I know I did my duty," she said calmly, but once again her calm face and tone paired with her set shoulders didn't fool me.

She was afraid Harry would hate having her as a sister. She was afraid that he would hate her for it. She didn't want to know that he thought so little of her that despite being his sister, he still wouldn't see her as a person.

"Mia he adores you. He looks up to you. He, like the other idiots, my dad included, don't realize what they're doing. You hide the hurt so well and are so strong that they forget that you need love, care and attention as much as any other person. They forget the shit you've gone through because of the beautiful smile you have on your face."

"Thanks Dragon, I love you."

"I love you, and we really need to get out of here, because I don't think I can hold off on kissing you any longer."

"We're going to have to be careful. Dragon, promise me you'll be careful... I won't lose you," she said sternly, squeezing me tightly.

"You won't Mia. We'll be together forever."

"You can't promise me that," she sniffed.

"But I can try damn hardest to make sure it happens," I replied.

**-O-**

**Hermione's POV**

"Alright, let's get out of here. I really need to kiss you, say goodnight to Papa Tommy, who may or may not be dying of worry, and then cuddle and fall asleep in your arms," I sighed breathily.

"I really like how you think," he chuckled, pulling us out of our mind.

When we "woke up", I found we were in the nursery we used to play in when we were younger in the manor...What the hell was going on? Why weren't we in my room, or the guest room? Or even in separate rooms?

"When can we kill the bastard Mina?" I heard Papa Tommy growl the second I sat up.

I turned to look at Dragon and snorted at the way he was laying. His rear was sticking up as he covered his face with pillows.

"Too much light," I heard him groan through our mental connection. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Papa Tommy?" I asked him cautiously.

"'Course Mina," he replied softly. "Fire ball, ya think you can get Dragon o'er there to get his head out of his-"

"Arse, sorry Papa Tommy, but it's been up there for so long I don't think he'd be able to adjust to the new environment," I quipped, earning myself a belly laugh from Papa Tommy and a pillow in the face, courtesy of one Draco Alexander Black.

"Haha, you're just hilarious Mia," Dragon deadpanned.

"You love me," I smiled sweetly.

"You know I do," he replied with smoldering eyes, I felt myself melt like putty. He was really asking for the snog of a lifetime but that would have to wait.

"I'm looking forward to it, Mia mia," he purred through the connection making my insides squirm damn his irresistibility and damn my stupid hormones! I shifted uncomfortably, completely aware of my red face.

"Papa Tommy, how?"

"I think the ball of magic barrelin' into me from your light show may have played a part. I'm not sure, o' course. I mean I'm no genius but the whole gettin' knocked unconscious for a whole hour and the splitting headache and rush of memories righ' after, sure would indicate as much," he chuckled.

Papa Tommy!" I cried, nearly toppling him over as I crushed him in a hug. Suddenly, it hit me. "Papa Tommy, were there more balls of magic that went flying about?" I asked warily.

"O' course lass, a' least seven a' most thirteen," he replied confused.

"Shit, shit, oh Merlin's staff a million times shit!" I exclaimed.

"Mina!" Papa Tommy snapped, "you betta' start explainin' wha' went ta hell before I go bat shit crazy. I'm not in the mood for waiting. I got a splittin' headache, my head's still wonky, and I want to sleep, but before tha' I want ta know what the bloody hell is goin' on."

"Er well... I think that our bonding of life and mind may have...erm... released more magic than ever thought possible, and it saw it fit to reach out to those we loved and ummm freed them too?" I replied still not believing it myself. This would move everything up! Not to mention Harry! What was I supposed to do now? I had to modify all of my plans, _AGAIN_.

"I'm thinking it would have hit Harry, Moony Remy, Uncle Frank and Auntie Allie-"

"And Da, Ma, and Aunty Poppy-"

"And Aunt Minnie and Uncle Fili," I finished.

"That makes ten with you..." Draco added as an after thought.

"Okay so, now, Harry and I need to sneak into Gringotts and make sure we have their will read. I need to write to Fleur and Viktor and have them keep an eye out for Aunty Marly, talk to Rita and get her going on destroying Dumb-old-bore, and visit uncle frank and Aunty Alice with Nev. Then, maybe, we can all go visit Mum and Dad..." I mused, the plans forming quickly in my head.

I heard Draco moan in pain, making me snap back to reality.

"Dragon what's wrong," I fretted, turning to face him, cradling his face in my hands.

"Make the genius stop," he moaned. "It's all so fast. It's too much. I feel like I might burn my brains out."

"You are such a jerk!" I yelled, slapping his arm.

"Ouch that hurt woman! It's too damn late to be thinking so much," he snapped.

"_I just want that snog I was promised, and to cuddle and fall asleep with the woman of my dreams in my arms, and then wake up to her heavenly scent," _he added mentally.

"Fine, you win, but you're still an arse," I muttered, shifting on the bed so that I was seated between his outstretched legs. His arms immediately went around my middle, and I was in heaven.

"Once we do that, I think we'll be practically set. We might get Dumbledore out of Hogwarts by the first week of the new term," I chirped, he groaned.

"Where is the bloody off button?" he moaned.

"_You're not getting snogged any time soon," _I snapped mentally.

"It shouldn't be long after that to have him completely destroyed if we go for the more aggressive approach... But of course we're going to have to be a lot more careful. This could explode in our fac-"

"Er... well, I'm going to bed, Mina. Head's killn' me," Papa Tommy grunted, quickly pressing kisses to our foreheads and leaving the room.

"Told ya, it was too late for genius," he teased, nibbling on my neck.

"_Damn! Now I can't even think... why wasn't I going to snog him again? Can't remember, doesn't matter... Most definitely snogging him."_

**A/N And that's the end of the chapter! Personally, I am quite happy with the chapter. It had a bit of everything and I really enjoyed writing it. I hope y'all enjoy reading it! **

**Anyways, please review! ^_^**


	20. An Elemental Reunion

**A/N Hey all! I'm back with a new chapter, and, much like the last one, it's quite lengthy. **

**I thought you should know that this fic has taken a life of its own. My plans for it were slightly different, but I'm really enjoying how things are unraveling, so I'm going to let it be. Anyways, this is a slowish chapter, but the next chapters are going to bring about quite a bit of change. So yeah... ENJOY! **

"Morning, Mia," Draco breathed into Hermione's neck.

She moaned sleepily, as she snuggled into his chest. Draco smiled. He could most definitely get used to this. Feeling her blissful sleepiness through their bond was simply, hands down, the best feeling in the world. He would gladly spend the rest of his life like this, but, alas, it was not meant to be. According to Poppy, Papa Tommy was due to wake up any moment now, and he didn't think he would appreciate them sharing a bed. No, he definitely wouldn't appreciate it.

"Mia, wakey, wakey," he sing-songed, causing her to groan, as she rolled over to face him.

"Mia, come on," he shook her slightly.

"No, I don't wanna," she replied, closing her eyes tighter.

"Well, I guess I'll have to take some drastic measures," he mused, flexing his fingers as they inched towards her waist.

"No! Draco, stop! Hahaha, you cheater!" Hermione giggled, trying to swat away his oh so evil hands.

That jerk was tickling her! How the hell was she supposed to sleep with him attacking her so cruelly.

"Let me sleep!" she whined.

"Nope, get up! It's six-thirty, already."

"Fine, fine!" she muttered, rubbing at her eyes, before sitting up and glaring at him.

"Oh don't be such a drama queen," Draco huffed, rolling his eyes.

"So says the biggest drama queen in the world," she quipped, a smile tugging at her lips at his pout.

Suddenly, the air in the room thickened as their eyes roamed to each others lips. A blush rose to Hermione's cheeks as Draco licked his lips. Oh Merlin, he really shouldn't do that. Hermione bit her lip, trying to contain herself. Sadly, but not really, Draco didn't seem to have the same self-discipline. His lips found themselves attached to hers once more, and the warmth and happiness was just as strong as it had been the first time. Heavens, he really _really _loved kissing his Mia. Hermione felt herself floating on cloud nine, responding in kind to his rather naughty lips.

"Nice to see you two are awake," Papa Tommy muttered gruffly.

Hermione and Draco broke apart quickly, almost as if they had been burnt... Well, Hermione certainly felt like she was burning up. Her cheeks were definitely much hotter than normal. Draco, however, didn't seem fazed... unless you counted the goofy grin and glazed eyes. Papa Tommy narrowed his eyes at the couple he had caught snogging rather passionately _on the same bed!_ However, he was contented by the fact that they both appeared to still be completely dressed, a clear indication that nothing _too _untoward had happened..._yet_...

"This better be the last time you two share a bed under my roof without being married," he said leveling them with a stern glare.

"Yes, Papa Tommy," they replied with shy smiles.

"Let's go downstairs and have a chat, before you have to leave in an hour," Papa Tommy suggested.

... nearly an hour later...

"Okay, so Minerva, Filius and Poppy remember, right?"

"Yes, Papa Tommy, and you need to contact them personally and tell them to not act any different until Draco and I come out publicly," Hermione instructed.

"And we get to destroy Dumbledore once Marlene gets here and Sirius is cleared?" he asked, making sure there were no misunderstandings.

"Most definitely," Draco nodded, an evil smirk playing at his lips.

He had seen exactly what his Mia intended to do to the white bearded goat, and he was really _really _looking forward to it. The image of an insane Dumbledore being burned to death was a very happy one indeed.

"Alright, now that that's settled, I think it's time I got back," Hermione sighed.

"You know you don't have to go back if you don't want to Mina. I don't like you being so close to Molly when you're so susceptible to love potions," Papa Tommy sighed, holding Hermione tightly.

"You know I have to Papa Tommy, but I'll be careful. I promise," she replied, before making her way over to Draco.

Draco smiled fondly, looking deeply into her eyes. His mind whispered a litany of sweet endearments to her. She smiled brightly through a rather bright blush. She was going to miss this. Why couldn't she take him with her again, she wondered as his lips drew closer to hers. He kissed her chastely, knowing that Papa Tommy wouldn't appreciate it too much, and the fact that the more he kissed her, the less resolve he would have to pull away.

"I'll see you tonight," she whispered, before taking off to Grimmauld Place.

**-O-**

**Harry's POV**

I groaned. What the hell had happened? I had been in the library hoping I could find Hermione, since we were supposed to have an Occlumency lesson, but she wasn't there. It wasn't like her to just forget, so I decided to wait...and wait, and wait, and wait, but she didn't show. Then, I started feeling funny, slightly dizzy. Then there was pain, and the world went black, and now... I'm here, in the room I share with Ron, with a lot of funny things in my head. Memories, I think...

I remembered a little girl with pretty red hair, just like Mum's. It was funny because her name was Hermione, but some called her Mia. She was my sister, I think, but I didn't have a sister_... Did I?_ Then there was Remus and Sirius. The girl called them Moony Remy and Uncle Siri... It's funny actually. I mean I could have sworn that my Hermione sometimes calls them that...

"_Holy shit! NO! Yes? Maybe... Really? Could it be?... It has to be! She's my sister! Through blood! I have an actual sister!"_

I could feel a huge grin appear on my face. Everything made sense! That had been why she had gone crazier with me when she was high! She obviously remembers them a lot better than I do. Oh Merlin, I had a sister! And she's alive, and with me, and she likes me, and she's with me!

"_Life is good," _I thought before getting ready for breakfast. I couldn't wait to tell her I remembered!

**-O-**

**Narrator's POV**

Just as Hermione was tumbling out of Sirius's fireplace, the twins were downstairs by Mrs. Black's portrait, waiting for their three older brothers to arrive. Hermione hadn't even taken in her surroundings, before she was engulfed by two pairs of strong arms and drowning in a sea of tears. To say she was surprised, would be a gross understatement.

She had no idea what was happening. Had something happened to Harry? Or Nym, the twins? Were _they _hurt? She started hyperventilating at the thought of losing someone now. Now, that things were finally looking up. Her body loosened as feelings of calm and warmth flowed through hers and Draco's connection.

"Sorry," she whispered to Draco before allowing herself to calm down.

"We're so sorry, Angel, oh so great one. We took you for granted and treated you like shit, and you didn't deserve that," Sirius sniffled.

"_Thank goodness," _Hermione thought relieved before grinning broadly.

Everything was okay. They were just on their man-period or something. No one was hurt! She started laughing. Remus and Sirius stared at her, looked at each other, then continued staring at her. She was laughing! What the hell? They had just launched themselves at her, cried hysterically, and apologized for being despicable beings, and she was laughing?! They exchanged another glance and nodded. It was settled. She had gone crazy.

"Princess? Are you alright?" Remus ventured cautiously in case she did something crazy, like burn the house down or something.

"Why wouldn't I be? I mean I'm a bit worried about the whole display of excessive emotion, but I guess you both are just being sentimental, and no one's hurt, so of course I'm okay!" she grinned.

"We aren't just being sentimental!" Sirius growled. "We were apologizing," he huffed indignantly. Remus nodded his agreement.

Now, it was her turn to stare at them as if they had gone insane. She couldn't understand what they were apologizing for. What could they possibly have to apologize for? They had been so kind to her. They hadn't raised a single hand against her, they let her eat, and they didn't make a single demeaning remark about her! They had been more than she could have ever hoped for. Things had gone a lot better than she could have expected if she had just gone off to live on her own, in a flat or something.

"What are you apologizing for?" she finally asked.

She cringed when she saw their furious expressions. She nearly toppled over as she felt Draco's unleashed fury through their connection. It was _so much_ anger. It was burning her from within. Who would have known that fire could be transferred through their emotional connection? She certainly hadn't read about this... Then again, this was the first time in recorded history that a match made in heaven had any additional talents aside from the bond itself.

Tears formed in their eyes as they realized that she truly didn't understand why they were apologizing. They could see what Tonks had been saying now. She really didn't see anything wrong with how they had treated her. She didn't hold anything against them because she didn't realize that she had anything to feel bad about. They felt like curling up and sobbing their hearts out as they realized that she probably thought that she was lucky that things had turned out the way they had.

"Do you really have to ask Princess," Remus whimpered.

"Yes... I mean you been so kind to me. You don't hit me, you don't yell at me, and you let me stay here! What could you possibly be apologizing for?" she replied softly, looking into his eyes kindly. her eyes shining with a sincerity that tore into his heart.

"_God damn it Mia! They should fucking be grovelling for your forgiveness. They should have showered you with affection and support, not just ignored your mere existence." _

Hermione bit her lip, tears escaping the corners of her eyes. Even though she hadn't ever been angry about it, she had been hurt on more than one occasion when she would see someone on the receiving end of attention and affection. The second she had felt herself descending into sadness, she had berated herself and pushed all those negative emotions aside. After all, it wasn't fair to be so selfish, especially not when she had had such a stroke of luck, but, now, they were telling her that she was supposed to have felt neglected.

Had she been wrong? Wasn't she supposed to be grateful? Hadn't she gotten lucky? It wasn't like she felt as if she had missed out on anything. It had always been like that. She had never expected to be lavished with attention and love. Was she supposed to be angry because she didn't receive something she never expected to obtain? Were they angry at the fact that she wasn't angry?

"_No, Mia. I personally am angry at those two. _They _are heartbroken. The thing is you are so selfless and... so _unused _to affection... that you don't realize that you _deserve _all the love and attention in the universe. They _should have _loved you openly, and they know that now. They feel like you should be angry, but mostly they are angry with themselves for being so self-centered and not realizing that they were neglecting you," _Draco soothed through her bond.

She nodded, feeling slightly calmer. She could still slightly feel Draco's irritation, but she was glad that he had kept his negative feelings toward his father and Moony Remy... and Harry...mostly to himself. She took a deep breath to calm herself. She was being far too emotional for her liking.

"Princess, we are apologizing because we haven't treated you as we should have. We ignored the fact that you are human, and deserve love, affection and attention."

"We are your family, and we haven't been behaving towards you as a family should, oh so great one. We have been treating you worse than we would have a stranger, and it never should have been like that. I know that this whole apology isn't really worth anything, since it doesn't turn back time or suddenly make you understand, but I can promise that we will be trying our hardest to make it up to you," Sirius said seriously, solemnly staring straight into her eyes. **(okay, sorry, but I saw the opportunity and took it. Alliteration!) **

"Ummm, no hard feelings, then?" Hermione said awkwardly, not knowing what to do with herself.

She fidgeted with the ends of her hair, which, she noted with relief, was still brown. She really didn't know what was expected of her. The conversation had been one-sided, for the most part. She certainly didn't understand what the big deal was. If they wanted to be... nicer to her, then they could just do so, without bursting into tears, breaking down, and pouncing on her.

Much to her chagrin, they kept staring at her, their eyes full of pity and frustration. She could feel herself growing more irritated as the seconds passed. Maybe she ought to burn their backsides, and see if they kept looking at her as if she were some wounded little animal then. She closed her eyes, and took deep breaths. She couldn't let being away from Draco affect her temperament so much. Sure, mood swings and being sentimental were to be expected when away from her other half, but still...

"_You shouldn't be containing yourself so much. It'll come back to bite you in that delectable arse of yours, Mia," _Draco said sagely.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. She was perfectly fine, thank you very much. It's not like she planned on letting go of her firm grip on her emotions. Little did she know that her plans were about to go straight to hell very, very soon.

"Let's go down to breakfast, yeah?" she suggested, trying to make her voice bright, but Remus and Sirius heard the irritation lacing it.

As they made their way downstairs towards the kitchen, they heard the woman they wished would accidentally find herself impaled on the wrong side of a kitchen knife. Apparently, there had been some new arrivals of her own flesh and blood to fret over, Merlin help them!

"But she's French!" Molly screeched.

"Looks like it's not all sun and laughs in paradise," Harry muttered from behind them.

Hermione turned around in a flash, eyes wide. Harry smirked at his sister's expression. He still couldn't believe he had been with his sister for so long, and hadn't known it!

"S'up sis?" he laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

Hermione stared at Harry completely bewildered. Normally, he wouldn't have dared to have such casual contact with her, but she was his sister. She couldn't get rid of him, even if she tried now. He didn't have to worry about overstepping any boundaries because there didn't have to be any. They were bound by blood. He grinned he really liked the sound of that. Besides, there were definitely some perks to this. Growing up they both lacked affection, and, now, they could be sources of affection for each other. His smile widened as Hermione leaned into his touch.

"You remember?" she nodded happily. A wide smile appeared on her lips. "Good, we'll talk later, but don't drink anything that you didn't prepare or pour for yourself," she said softly.

"Alright, but I expect an explanation," he warned her.

Hermione smirked, having already expected that reply. She pressed a quick kiss before skipping into the kitchen, her mood soaring. She had Harry now too. Sure, he wanted some answers, but Harry she could deal with. Harry she could understand completely. They were the same after all. She wouldn't have to worry about being attacked like she had been earlier.

"Vous êtes une vieille chauve-souris detestable et préjugé!" Hermione heard someone yell in a very familiar voice.

She smirked as she pushed the door to the kitchen open .

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, you dirty veela skank!?" Mrs. Weasley replied enraged.

"It means 'you are a despicable, prejudiced old bat,' and she's only a quarter-veela, by the way," Hermione replied calmly in her most infuriating know-it-all voice.

"'Erimione!" Fleur squealed, before rushing over to engulf her in a fierce hug.

"Bonjour Fleur! Ca va?" Hermione giggled. (**Hello Fleur! How's it going?)

"Ca va tres bien! Tu es different, 'Ermione!" she said in a rush. "...Je sais ce qui se passe," she said impishly, a knowing glint in her eyes. "Nous devons parler depuis!" she exclaimed, nearly bouncing up and down in excitement. (**It's going really well! You are different, Hermione! ... I know what's going on. We have to talk later!)

"Sans doute," Hermione replied, blushing slightly. "Good morning all!" she chirped turning to everyone else.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at the agape mouths of the young bitch weasel, the twins, Percy and two unknown Weasleys that had to be Charlie, the more muscular, broad-shouldered one that looked like a bad boy, and Bill, the one with the earring and looked like your typical badass.

All the Weasley boys smiled at her roguishly. The twins and Percy were very much enjoying the view that was Hermione. Ron was grinning at the thought of all the things he would have the witch do, once she became his. The two eldest Weasley boys, strangely, had immediately taken to the petite witch. Something about her was utterly magnetic... and not to mention how effectively she had put their overbearing mother in her place. Yep, they definitely like the tiny witch, and if Fleur liked her, Bill reasoned, then that was definitely a bonus. Ginny got red in the face seeing the attention the brunette witch was receiving.

Molly, meanwhile, was busying herself with further de-flavoring her now reinforced, super-effective love and loyalty potions. She had set aside so much time making and preparing Hermione's potions (well, Harry's too, but those had just been the standard stuff) that she hadn't had time to prepare Arthur's... Now, she would have to wait until next month, since the rather extreme regime she had him on needed to be in sync with the lunar cycle, or else they would prove to be ineffective. She just hoped that nothing would snap him from the haze he lived in. However, with their older children making an appearance the chances of that happening were rapidly disappearing.

"Why don't you all go into the drawing room, while I prepare breakfast?" Molly suggested with a strained smile. She was going to strengthen her damn potions to the best of her ability, and make sure that damn chit drank it!

"Are you sure you don't want any help, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione asked with a charming smile that made two twin red heads to grin goofily.

"Absolutely positive, _dear,_" she replied with a scarily sweet smile.

Everyone in the room but Hermione flinched. Hermione mentally rolled her eyes, could she be any more obvious. Hermione was definitely not going to be drinking anything that she was going to be given any time soon. That bitch would probably purposely poison her, if she were allowed to kill her.

"Very well then, we'll get out of your hair," Hermione said sweetly, too sweetly, deceptively so.

The wizards in the room swallowed thickly and Fleur smirked. The tension in the room was certainly tangible, but it seemed that the only one who didn't seem to sense that the dislike between these two witches was definitely two-sided was Molly Weasley because she certainly wouldn't have been looking so smug otherwise. That petite witch was certainly terrifying.

Fleur hooked Hermione's elbow with hers before skipping out of Molly's diabolic lair. Hermione shot the boys a saucy wink and a charming smile before whisking Fleur upstairs to Nym's room. If Hermione was going to tell Fleur all about Draco, then Nym deserved to be told about the recent development's too. Hermione was just about to knock on Tonk's door when it was wrenched open and both unsuspecting witches were pulled inside by an overzealous, grinning Tonks.

"Spill the beans sister," Tonks beamed, jumping up and down on her bed.

Hermione blushed, and backed away from Tonks as an image of a sugar high chipmunk entered her mind unbidden. Hermione tried to make the image go away, but Nym's excitement and Draco's amusing, yet inopportune commentary was not making things any easier. Hermione was going to go crazy! Didn't Draco have anything better to do than explore their connection?

"_Nope. I'm bored and lonely, and you're so enchanting Mia. You just pull me in..." _Draco replied charmingly, making Hermione's lips pulling upwards into a dreamy smile. "_Not to mention Papa Tommy is busy talking to Uncle Fili, and Aunts Minnie and Poppy, but carry on with that crazed rodent, sugar-high cousin of yours."_

"Damn it Dragon! You're not helping," Hermione exclaimed frustrated.

"Dragon?" Fleur asked confused. "Eez that the name of your mate, 'Ermione?"

"Oh, you didn't? Really, you bonded? Ahhh! I can't believe it! I'm so excited! So are you like married now? Ah little Drakey's officially family." Nym gushed.

"No, I didn't. _He _couldn't resist the urge to kiss me... no, I wasn't complaining. We are not fully bonded yet, so no we are not married yet, and he's already a distant cousin of yours Nym," she explained calmly.

"Ah, so you 'ave not...comme se dit... done zhe deed," Fleur smirked, waggling her eyebrows. .

Hermione blushed brightly as both her imagination and Draco's created some very naughty images in her mind. Her body temperature kicked up several degrees, and she was not liking it one bit. She groaned and hid her red face in her hands, making the two older witches giggle like mad.

"Oh, 'ow rude of me!" Fleur suddenly exclaimed. "Je m'appelle Fleur Delacour, eets nice to meet you!" she beamed extending her hand towards Tonks.

"My name is Tonks, and you can call me Tonks... or Nym," Tonks smiled, shaking Fleur's hand.

"Bien, Neem," Fleur smiled. "So tell me more about this mate of 'Ermione! 'e must be magnifique to be 'er soul mate!"

"Well, er... he's a what third cousin, third removed or something along those lines. I don't know him that well, but I know he is second in his class, right after Miss Genius here, and that he loves her very much," said smiling awkwardly.

Fleur decided not to comment on the fact that something was obviously being hidden from her. It was obvious that Bill's twin brothers had been quite perceptive, not that she had any intentions of telling Bill. She hadn't agreed with Bill's decision to help them spy on someone, but with them having mated recently, she hadn't had any other option but to come with him.

"So what's it like, being a bonded woman, Min?" Tonks asked sincerely.

Hermione took a deep breath as she gathered all of her thoughts and emotions and tried to put them into words. It was quite a task considering she had never thought that she could feel so much happiness and hope and love. It was so special and beautiful and precious that she had no idea how to even begin to describe what it was like to have Draco in her life, and him being hers and wanting her and loving her just as much as she did was indescribable, invaluable, unexplainable... just plain perfection.

"Judging from the glazed eyes and dreamy smile, it's great," Nym giggled as Fleur looked at Hermione with knowing eyes.

"Eet eez obviously not zhe same with Guilliame and I. I zon't zhink anyzhing can compare, but eet eez the most beautiful thing one can feel. You will zoon know," Fleur replied, her face breaking into a dreamy smile.

"I will?" Nym asked flabberghasted.

Hermione facepalmed, just barely suppressing a groan of frustration. Nym was not supposed to be told by anyone else but Remus, once he got the courage to finally tell her. Then again, they should probably go on a few dates before he dropped the bomb, even if Nym obviously liked him too.

"Yes, the marriage bond is a lot like it, but... less. I understand that veela bonds are about ten times as strong, but even a veela mating bond does not even begin to compare to my bond to Draco, since yeah..." Hermione trailed off awkwardly, blushing crazily again.

"Then I can't wait! Then again, at least we're finally going somewhere," Nym exclaimed happily.

"Oh, did Remus finally make a move?" Hermione asked nonchalantly.

"W-what? How did you know?" Tonks spluttered.

"Oh, honestly, I'm not blind," she scoffed.

"You're not angry?" Tonks asked biting her lip.

"Why would I be?" Hermione asked confused.

"He was yours first," Nym squeaked.

"He was never mine... Draco is mine. Moony Remy and I... we share a... special connection... but I am meant to be with my dragon," Hermione replied softly, taking Tonks hand in hers.

The relief was evident in her eyes. Tonks smiled broadly. She and Min had simply clicked. She had loved the girl since the first time they had exchanged words. She grew to adore her as the sister she never had, and then she discovered they were cousins, closer related than Sirius, Narcissa, and Draco, which she had thought was the only family she had left on her mother's side. She had thought she couldn't possibly love her anymore, but then she had to go and do something like this.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! So you're sure you won't mind, if I have my wicked way with him?" she asked.

"No, of course not, but I do have something to ask of you," Hermione admitted, blushing. Nym looked at her excited.

Anything that could make her blush like that was totally worth looking into. If she could help, then she was definitely going to jump at the opportunity!

"Erm, well.. you see... it's really hard to be away from Draco at this stage, and it's going to be even harder as more time passes... at least until we are... erm _marked_, so do you think I could move out of Ginny's into yours and sneak Draco in so we can sleep together?" she asked in a rush. "_Just sleep_," she clarified, blushing beet red at Nym and Fleur's waggling eyebrows.

Tonks pretended to think about it. She was certainly enjoying Hermione's discomfort, if her evilly gleeful expression was anything to go by, which it most certainly was. Just as she was about to put Hermione out of her misery, she realized something. She couldn't be sure of Harry and Sirius, but she knew Remus, Neville, and Tom would not like these arrangements, AT ALL.

"Oh Merlin, Remus, Tom, and Neville would blow an artery if they knew!" she exclaimed.

Hermione paled. She hadn't even paused to think about Neville or Moony Remy's reactions if they were to find out that she and Draco shared a bed. She had been too focused on Papa Tommy and Sirius's reactions, not to mention making sure that none of the Weasley's found out. Did everything have to be so damn difficult?

"I know, but please Nym," Hermione pouted, doing that eye thing that made no one able to deny her anything. NO ONE.

"Don't do the eye thing! Please! Gah!can' . Fine! Fine! You two can move into my room and share a damn bed, and I'll do my best to make sure that your little charming dragon prince doesn't get chewed out by overprotective males," Tonks huffed.

Hermione smiled widely before launching herself at the older witch. She squealed in delight, jumping up and down on the bed. Fleur looked on amused. Hermione had definitely changed since she had last seen her. She seemed freer, more powerful. Something in her just screamed for respect and obedience, and her instincts had never failed her before.

"Breakfast!" they heard Mrs. Weasley screech.

"Merde!" Hermione and Fleur exclaimed. (**Shit!)

All three witches looked at each other before bursting out in laughter. A new friendship had been formed. From this day forth, they would be known as the sexy trio, a true force to be reckoned with. Those boys better watch out because these witches, with Hermione as their unofficial and reluctant leader, not that the other two cared about that minor detail, would be unstoppable and cause of much ache (in the heart, head, and other parts of the human anatomy). Laughing and giggling over nothing but everything all at once, Fleur, Tonks and Hermione made their way to the kitchen unaware of all the dazed stares they were getting from the males in the room. They really were a sight to be seen. They were a sexy trio of witches, not that they were about to say it to their faces.

"Oh, help yourselves, dears. I made some fresh orange juice, by the way," Mrs. Weasley announced cheerfully as we all sat at the table.

With a wave of her wand and, in Hermione's opinion, a rather feral grin, all the glasses of juice found their respective "owners". Hermione could already feel the uneasiness radiating from the accursed glass. Then again, it could have just been her imagination, but she seriously doubted it. She took a deep breath, pushing aside the discomfort the "orange juice" caused and loaded her plate with a reasonable, yet no longer meagre serving. Nym beamed at her, before loading her own plate with food.

The meal had been going well. Thus far, Harry and Hermione had successfully avoided drinking their "orange juice" without arousing suspicion. There had been amiable chatter and banter between the five oldest Weasley brothers and the rest of the current inhabitants of Grimmauld place. Molly, Ginny, and Ron were blatantly ignored and shot down, while Arthur seemed to be in another world.

Hermione had been studying him throughout breakfast, and she wasn't liking the conclusions she was drawing one bit. His eyes were bloodshot. His movements seemed sluggish, uncoordinated, and occasionally a tad erratic. His mouth would open and close as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. His eyes would suddenly widen in fear, then would start scanning the room desperately, before losing focus once more. Each time this would happen Hermione's heart would start beating more and more erratically. She knew the signs, but she didn't want to believe it. She couldn't believe it, yet she wasn't surprised, not really.

"Sooo, you two seem rather _close_. Anything we should know?" Charlie asked casually, a lecherous grin playing at his lips.

Harry had been lucky enough to not have been in the process of swallowing, so his food just saw itself propelled directly onto Ginny's blouse. Hermione, however, was not so lucky. She had been in the process of swallowing a particularly tasty morsel of toast, when Charlie decided he was comfortable enough to make that rather distasteful speculation. Granted, he had only intended to watch her blush or squirm or both, but now, thanks to him, she had a bolus of food painfully lodged in her esophagus.

She had started coughing rather violently, and everyone seemed to be frozen in shock watching her nearly cough her guts out. Well, at least until her coughing died and her face started going through different shades of blue. Charlie, snapping out of his shock, jumped out of his seat and immediately began performing the Heimlich maneuver, seeing as they taught everyone at the reserve basic muggle emergency medical aid procedures just in case. Percy, who hadn't been far behind Charlie, in jumping into action, handed Hermione the glass of lemonade she had been so avidly avoiding, not that anyone really noticed or knew what was inside the glass, once the bit of toast had been unlodged.

She had been thankful for the cool drink soothing her abused throat, at least until she felt it. It began slow, deceptively slow. The freezing sensation settled into her stomach and immediately started spreading. Luckily, she could still feel Draco on the other side of their connection by the time she realized what had happened. It was so cold. Her nerve endings were frantically sending out messages of pain. She could feel Draco writhing in pain already.

"Shite!" she groaned, trying to hide the pain, before running up to Sirius's room.

She needed to get rid of the potion immediately, but she needed Draco with her. Molly had obviously stepped up her game from the last time, and Hermione hadn't known that it would affect him as quickly as it had. Hermione needed her dragon, and she needed to burn it out of both of their bodies. That was the only way they could hope to survive the iciness that was dragging them both to their graves.

The second she was able to wrench the door open, she stumbled in and collapsed, her legs having succumbed to the spreading chill. Having been unable to shut the door, this was the scene that Harry, Fleur, Bill, Percy, Charlie, Sirius, and the twins walked into. Remus and Nymphadora had stayed behind to keep Arthur, Molly, and her two weasel children out of this whole mess.

Tonks had seen the second the "juice" had begun to affect her. She saw her vital and magical levels plummet and keep dropping quickly. She couldn't believe her eyes. How could it be? Remus hadn't been far behind Tonks in realizing what had happened, but, unlike her, he knew exactly what had happened. He had seen it happen the last time, and he also knew exactly whose fault it was. While she had been trying to wrap her head around it, he was trying to suppress the urge to kill the woman who had hurt one of his mates. Yes, she was still his mate. She would be until she completed the final level of bonding with her dragon. Until the day that they were completely, absolutely, and irrevocably intertwined and marked, she was still his to protect as well. His lunar magic was still tied to her.

By the time the others had ran out of the room, they had seen themselves forced to stop the bitch and her two heinous offspring from running after them. They were forced to stay behind, but, in all honesty, they were relieved. They didn't think they'd be able to deal with seeing her in any sort of distress. They were, much to their shame, too hot-tempered and protective of the petite, fiery witch, and would more likely than not be more of a hindrance than anything.

Harry's heart clenched at the sight of his sister on the ground, teeth clenched in pain. He had no idea what had happened, but something was wrong, terribly so. Everybody else was in much the same position. No one really knew what had happened. Sirius had an idea, but couldn't explain why the hell her condition had deteriorated so much in just a few minutes. Bill, this time, was the first to react. He could feel her muscles twitching as he picked her up to put her on the bed. The floor couldn't possibly comfortable.

"Draco," she grunted through her teeth.

"What?" Bill asked dumbly, not knowing how to react.

"Get Draco," she scream-groaned at the room.

Her hair flickered between brown and red, a red brighter, richer, and prettier than all of the Weasley's in the room. The potion was spreading fast, much too fast. Her inner fire was taking a hit. She hadn't even known that was possible! They had to fix this _now_. There was no time to waste. It was already going to be a long shot. Hermione was pretty sure that everything would be changing, and not in the way she had planned for. She hadn't wanted it like this, but she sure as hell thought it was better than letting her Dragon die.

She would still try to fix this without altering her plans, but the probability of it working was slipping with every millisecond. The stupid potion was acting too fast. She wasn't near Draco, and her fire was being eaten away. She needed to try, but she needed to prepare in case her efforts didn't work. She was not going down without a fight, and she was not letting Draco die. Hell was going to freeze over before she let him die.

She closed her eyes, and, with a deep breath, focused on what was left of her inner fire. Her hair stopped flickering, leaving it that beautiful red color, just before lighting up in flames, as she led her fire towards the potion. She couldn't destroy the potion just yet. She didn't have enough power, and she wanted to make sure Draco was purged as well, but, at least for now, she had somewhat contained it. Her eyes snapped open, once she was sure she wouldn't lose her center. Everyone in the room looked at her glowing golden eyes in awe. She looked like a fire goddess. Her eyes locked on Harry's, and with her eyes beckoned him closer.

"'Mione," he whimpered.

"Harry, you're the b-back-up plan... If what I'm going to try doesn't w-work. I'm going t- have to take ex-extreme mea-sures," she grunted out, the pain still not small enough to be ignored.

"What?" he asked scared.

"Mind, we'll have to go in... I will need y-ou to let me in," she groaned.

The damn potion was fighting hard. It hurt just having to contain it, but the force with which it was fighting to break free, was excruciating. She needed Draco _now_. She wouldn't be able to hold it much longer. She needed more fire, but she doubted she had enough control over her own fire to be able to take fire from the others. She wouldn't be able to keep her fire leashed and on defense if she tried to use their fire, not from across the room. Unknown to everyone but Bill and Percy, Charlie could see fire... well kind of. He could sense it and manipulate it to some extent, hence why he loved to work with dragons. He could sense the fire inside of Hermione, which was something he had never experienced before. He could feel it flaring defiantly, only to be put back on a leash. It was almost as if...

"Are you trying to contain something?" he blurted out.

It was just so much _power_. He had never felt so _intoxicated_. He could feel the power coming from her in waves. It was slightly intimidating, but something about her made him feel compelled to help her, follow her, fight alongside her.

"Y-yes, potion s-spreading fast," she exhaled forcibly.

Where was Draco? Her fire was getting out of hand. It was a defense mechanism, she needed to destroy the threat. It was her knee-jerk reaction, but she couldn't do that. She had to wait for Draco, who was taking his bloody time getting here! Why hadn't Sirius brought him back yet?

"Why don't you destroy it?" he asked curiously.

"Need D-Draco."

"Do you need more fire then?" he asked instead of asking her the million questions that were swirling in his mind.

Hermione nodded her head furiously. Charlie had inner fire that was much more passive than her own. She could manipulate it into the front of her containment lines and have her own fire as backup in case any more potion slipped through. If he could materialize his inner fire and get it near her, she could easily do the rest. That would give her a bit more time before Draco got here.

Everybody but Hermione, Percy and Bill looked at Charlie's hand incredulously, when a decently-sized sphere of dark red fire materialized from it. They were mostly surprised by the fact that none of them had seen him pull out his wand. None of them had any idea what was going on, and were more than slightly worried when Hermione extended a trembling hand toward it. The second the fire transferred onto her palm, it glowed white before being absorbed into her body. The effect was immediate, she didn't seem _as _extremely pale. She was still pale, but at least her face wasn't pulled into such a pronounced grimace. Her fisted hands also seemed to relax ever so slightly.

"It's so tame," she commented with a grimacing smile.

"Errr... thanks? I'm not very good at materializing it... more of a manipulator, and even then I don't know much... mostly just enough to be handy..." Charlie rambled, blushing.

_...**AT MCKINNON MANOR, minutes earlier**_...

After summoning Poppy to make sure that his absence hadn't been and wouldn't be noticed, Draco decided to stay for breakfast, and then continue working on Tom's occlumency. Even if he already knew, it was of great importance that he could guard his thoughts. Smiling, Draco told his Papa Tommy the plan for the day, and readily accepted an invitation to stay for lunch as well. He really hated going home.

Just as they had sat at the table, Draco felt a cold stab in his stomach but ignored it, thinking it was just a pang of hunger. He succeeded for a grand total of ten minutes before the slight chill turned into a burning cold that seemed to be spreading throughout his body. He dropped to the ground, curling into fetal position. He had no idea what was happening. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. He couldn't feel her. He couldn't sense her at all through their bond.

He didn't hear Tom asking him what was wrong. Draco didn't sense him when he knelt by his side, trying to see what was wrong with him. Draco didn't feel Tom pick him up and lay him down on the couch. He didn't see the tears coursing down his grandfather's cheeks. He didn't know how much time had passed. He could only feel the pain, the pain from the cold and from her absence. His Mia was gone. She was gone. Why was he alive? Why couldn't he just _die_?

Tom watched on, unable to do anything and Draco whimpered and groaned in pain, tears flowing nonstop. He didn't know what was wrong. He had tried to floo Sirius, but no one answered. It had been exactly nineteen minutes of this agony, of not knowing what was happening, of not being able to help, not that he had been keeping track. Tom had watched uselessly as all color fled from Draco's already pale complexion. His forehead sheened with sweat, his muscles were tensed to such an extent that Tom wouldn't have been surprised if they snapped.

Thirty seconds later, Sirius stumbled in, holding tightly onto Kreacher's hand. Tears marred his face, and he let out a choked sob of relief. His eyes locked on Draco's form before rushing over to him and scooping him into his arms. His taut muscles made it quite difficult, but Sirius managed. He needed the comfort of knowing that he was still alive, even if just barely.

Sirius had asked Kreacher to take him to Malfoy manor, never thinking that he could possibly be elsewhere. He had looked in his room, the library, and the kitchens before one of the elves told him he wasn't there. That when the panic set in. He had had Kreacher investigate in Mungo's, the Leaky Cauldron, and Flourish and Blotts. While Kreacher had been out, Sirius had been able to calm down a bit and think. When Kreacher shook his head, Sirius knew his next best shot would be McKinnon Manor, and so, he and Kreacher arrived twenty minutes after Draco had collapsed.

"Sirius, wait. What happened?" Tom cried.

"I'm not sure... but Hermione's in bad shape again. I don't understand... Last time, it was love potions, but it didn't happen as fast as this," Sirius sighed frustrated. "She asked me to bring him... I just hope it's not too late," Sirius whispered brokenly.

"It won't be," Tom declared, as Sirius took hold of Kreacher.

The second they were gone, Tom sank to his knees. The sobs coursed through his body, wracking his frame. For the first time in forever, he did what Lily had shown him all those years ago, after his wife had passed. He prayed. He prayed that his Mina could save herself and his grandson. He prayed that Marlene was alive and would come back to them. He prayed for forgiveness for having abandoned his family, for having let his life slip through his fingers, for having been so weak and letting things get as bad as they did. Tom let himself cry, cry until he could no more, and for the first time in what seemed forever, he felt free. He no longer had the grief and guilt weighing him down. He felt hope, and he knew. He just knew that Mina would be able to save them both, and he just had to wait for his family to come together.

_...**back at Grimmauld Place**_...

"I'm new to it... we should t-rain together. I'm pretty sure I can s-neak out to Ro-mania with you," Hermione smiled tiredly, grimacing slightly.

"You're new to this?!" Charlie asked incredulously.

Before Hermione could reply, however, Sirius, Kreacher, and Draco appeared right beside Charlie. The twins actually yelped, at which Sirius rolled his eyes. Sirius all but dumped Draco onto Hermione's side, but contrary to what he had expected, there was no change in either of their semblances. Hermione intertwined their hands firmly, much to the consternation of all the Weasleys in the room. Why in the world was Hermione so buddy buddy with DRACO MALFOY?

"I'm so sorry..." she whispered.

"Mia?" Draco croaked, opening his eyes for the first time in fifteen minutes.

"It's contained... but I need to try to burn it... It's going to hurt a lot, and it might not work," she said ashamed.

"I can't lose you," he cried.

"You won't," she whispered as her body lit up.

-O-

**Hermione's POV**

"You won't," I whispered, as I unleashed my fire.

I cut lose all my restraints. I let it spread from my body to his, and fueled it with everything Draco and I had in us. I forced myself to ignore the agony as I pushed my fire further. With a clenched jaw and eyes screwed tightly shut, I went hunting. I had it. I burned it, and it was gone, but so was the bond... in a way. It was so severed, so damaged that I knew it wouldn't be able to heal on its own.

Our bond had been so fresh, too fresh to take such a brutal beating. It would only get worse if we spent much longer with it like this. We would remain physically weak, the good new was that our magic was intact. We would be able to finish up some business before completing the second bond, thus healing and reaffirming their first bond.

Her fire tapered away. The cold pain was gone, but the loss, the emptiness, was there, gnawing at her insides. She wanted to die. The pain was a million times worse than anything she had ever felt before. The pain was so great she couldn't hold back her cry. She screamed out in agony before, slumping over in a mess of sobs. A small corner of her mind knew that this was absolutely ridiculous, but right now her emotions were in command as she had completely set them loose.

Hermione was completely unaware of what was happening in the world around her. She didn't see the tears flowing freely down Fleur's cheeks. She wasn't aware of the natural catastrophe she was creating inside the tiny room. The wind thrashed from side to side, causing the door and windows to slam open and close and everything that wasn't somewhat permanently attached to something else swirled around the room haphazardly. Water solidified and began rocketing itself at everyone in the room save for Draco and Hermione. Vines grew into the room, some slapping at everything within reach, while others moved to form a protective cocoon around the couple in bed. The entire house shook as balls of fire began to circle around the sphere of vine.

To say that they were scared shitless would have been an understatement, but a better description, they couldn't find for how they were feeling. They had erected shields, much as they had to do when Hermione had first arrived at Grimmauld, but they wouldn't be holding for long. Once the first shield broke, Charlie moved to contain the fire that had started making its way toward them. It was a surprise to everyone but the twins, when they stepped up and focused on the hail pellets, making them stop for the most part. The ice projectiles were still quivering in place, but that was as good as Charlie was getting with the fireballs too. To the surprise of everyone in the room Fleur closed her eyes and with a raised hand was able to guide some of the objects flying towards them away. Bill wasn't far behind, as he himself helped in the endeavor.

It had been two minutes and they were getting tired. Percy, Harry and Sirius still hadn't snapped out of their trance, and they were getting frustrated. They were confused and sweaty, and their bodies were going to ache like hell tomorrow.

"Oi, idiots, make yourselves useful get Hermione to sodding calm the fuck down!" Charlie yelled angrily.

Harry immediately snapped into action. He raced over to the cocoon, which hadn't completely closed yet. He looked into the small, head-sized hole, and his eyes locked onto Hermione's unseeing, glowing, multi-colored eyes. It scared him. He had never seen her look so lost. It was heart-breaking. He took a deep breath, gathered his courage, and reached inside. He cupped her cheek as best he could, but it was really awkward and rather difficult.

"Mione, please come back to us. You need to calm down. We can still fix this. You can look into my mind and do that brilliant back-up plan of yours," Harry said softly. "I love you 'Mione, and Draco loves you. We need you here for us."

Draco's eyes opened slightly. He had been overcome with his own grief and Hermione's emotional tsunami had left him more than a bit overwhelmed, but Harry's words had helped her gain a tiny grain of consciousness, thus allowing Draco a bit of a breather. His eyes locked on Harry's frightened ones, and then wandered over to Hermione's. He froze as he saw how far gone she was. That was the problem with her having repressed her natural spirit for so long. The second she unleashed it, she couldn't adjust fast enough, and now she was out of control, letting herself feel for the first time in forever.

He nodded at Harry, before cupping her face in his hands. He stared into her eyes, hoping for any sign of recognition. When he didn't get any, he did the only thing he could think of doing. His lips promptly covered hers. Immediately, her eyes closed. Her hands, which had been hanging limply at her side, took life and pulled him closer to her. The kiss was feral, aggressive, more of a way to prove that they were still together, even without their bond completely there.

The instant that Hermione had snapped out of her emotional natural catastrophe, the natural elements froze in place. The twins, Charlie, Fred and Bill slumped onto the floor exhausted. They really needed to start working out or something. They hadn't even been able to hold it for five minutes! That was truly and really pathetic. Maybe they would all practice together, since now they knew that most of the people in the room were elementals... well to some degree.

Harry grimaced at the display. She was his sister, and he still wasn't too happy about her and Draco dating. He most definitely did not want to see them getting all touchy feely. He cleared his throat softly, but they didn't slow down or make any move to break apart. He cleared it louder a few more times, but with no effect.

Finally, when he had had enough he pulled Draco off of his sister, and growled, "bloody hell, get off of my sister! Don't you two need to breathe!?"

"Not with my elemental skills... not really, at least not for a while," Hermione grinned, not even slightly ashamed.

Harry glared at her. Did she really have no respect for her _younger brother_, Harry wondered. He was sure their dad would have ripped them apart before Draco even got a chance to kiss her. Hermione at least had the decency to blush under Harry's glare. She might have gotten a bit carried away, she would admit, but she most definitely did not regret it. That had been a really, _really _good kiss.

Harry pulled his head out of the gap and saw that not everything had gone back to normal. He raised an eyebrow at the pile of bodies slumped on the floor, but at the tired shake of their heads, he realized that they weren't going to be able to take care of the mess. It was up to Hermione, he supposed, but he wasn't sure if Hermione would be able to clean up this whole mess. He had only seen her use her abilities twice. Twice! And both had occurred at a time when she was emotionally distressed.

"Err... Hermione... you kinda need to do a bit of clean up..." Harry mumbled, not knowing what else to say.

"Oh... ha, ha... I went completely bonkers, didn't I?" she laughed embarrassed, her face burning in humiliation as she made the cocoon pull away from them.

"Just a bit, but I gotta say you're brilliant as always, Angel oh so great one," Sirius barked. "Those weaklings over there couldn't even keep everything at bay for five minutes," he chuckled, pointing a thumb at the pile of sweaty, slumped bodies of Fleur and Weasley boys.

Hermione looked at them in shock. She could see a faint aura around them trailing towards her, tying her to them. She had no idea what it meant, but she knew that she could trust everyone in the room, especially the ones that were currently trying to regain their strength. She looked away from them and surveyed the thoroughly disordered room.

Luckily, nothing had been broken to the point of no repair. She nodded at the vines, asking them to set everything back in place. She unfroze the water and returned it to the air. The wind did a quick sweep of the room, blowing all debris out the window. Then, she pulled out her wand and cast a wide-area repairing charm wordlessly. She smiled as she surveyed her work. It was as good as new.

"All done, now let's get a move on, all of you. I really need to finish this as soon as possible," she said chirpily, dragging Draco with her towards the fireplace.

"Where are we goi-"

"McKinnon Manor," Hermione and Draco shouted in unison as they stepped into the floo, their bodies intertwined.

"Let's go Guilliame. We weel talk later, all ov us," Fleur chirped before following the couple to the manor. The men exchanged wary, tired looks before shrugging and making it through the floo as well.

**A/N Zhe end... lol I can't really do the French accent thing, but I'll keep , things are changing A LOT in the next chapter. I, personally, can't wait! **

**Please review, it's very important to me that you do. Y'all have no idea how nice it feels! **


	21. Soon-to-be Changes and More Weasel Drama

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. No amount of wishing/ dreaming/ praying/ begging/ pleading/ grovelling is going to change that... unfortunately. **

**A/N Thank you so so so so so much to everyone who reviewed, followed, and/or favorited! It is much appreciated. **

**-In response to guest anon: I'm really glad you've enjoyed it so much! Your review really made me smile. Now, as to the fire... I mean it both literally and figuratively. Hermione and Charlie can manipulate the physical fire... but since Hermione is really skilled and Charlie is getting there, they can convert "inner fire" or emotions like love, protectiveness, and fury (not hate) into physical fire. Hermione needed the fire to try to heat the potion to the point of uselessness inside of her body... kind of like denaturing a protein... She had to wait to destroy it, so that she could be sure that she completely exterminated it and it didn't affect Draco anymore. **

**-In response to guest ****LinkisntZelda** **: Merci beaucoup! Ton commentaire m'a rendu heureuse! Tu es tres aimable. **

**Ton anglais n'est pas mauvaise, est comprehensible. Je suis desole, si mon francais est terrible, je l'ai etudie dans le lycee l'annee derniere. **

**In response to guest anon's second review/other readers that were anxiously awaiting this update: I AM SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT. I started writing this chapter two days after the last update, but I had writer's block for the one day afterwards that I had time to write before being swamped with final projects. Then grad night was this weekend and didn't quite find time to finish and post this chapter until now, so yeah, sorry... **

**Alright so, this chapter is going to involve a bit of Marlene, Uncle Fili, Aunts Minnie and Poppy, and Uncle Frank and Aunt Allie. PS sorry for the long author's note and the long wait... **

_**... At Hogwart's ...**_

Unknown to the general populace, Albus Dumbledore hated mornings, absolutely despised them. Among the few that knew, however, was the Hogwarts staff as there were many things one came to notice about others after being around them for so many years. The entirety of the staff knew that the earliest they could expect to see him during the holidays was noon, and that was only if there was some sort of emergency meeting he absolutely _needed _to attend or simply couldn't find a way to excuse himself from it or postpone it to later in the day. Usually, it frustrated a substantial portion of the Hogwarts staff. Today, however, this little fact would benefit three members of the staff very, very much.

In their personal rooms, two formidable witches and one rather talented half-goblin wizard were awakening in their beds with a rather frightful headache, along with a stream of forcibly, unwillingly forgotten memories. To say that they were not in a forgiving mood would have been a gross understatement. They wanted to murder one Albus Dumbledore, not that the others knew. It was six in the morning. They planned to wait until breakfast to talk to each other and subtly discover whether anyone else remembered, but, in all honesty, it was eating at them. Slowly, painfully consuming their patience and sanity. They needed to know..

They all exited their rooms at the same time. So busy and distracted were they, worrying about what excuse they would use to justify a visit to their friends' private rooms that they failed to notice each other's presence in the hallway, until they collided quite painfully in the middle of the hallway and fell back onto the floor groaning in pain. Damn it! So much for subtlety. They looked around warily, hoping that they hadn't woken any of the others, specifically that bastard Severus. That would definitely get them into trouble. With relief, they noted that nothing seemed to be stirring. Seeing everything remained quiet, they picked themselves off the stone floor.

"Memories?" Filius asked softly, eyeing the two witches in identical, differently colored bathrobes. He recognized them as their last Christmas gift from Lily.

They nodded sadly. In silent agreement, they walked into the nearest private chambers, which just so happened to be Minerva's. They settled heavily into the armchairs she had in her antechamber. They needed to talk, but they weren't quite ready for that yet. Everything they had believed for years had been a lie. They had been manipulated so perfectly, they felt violated... and oh so murderous. They wouldn't be able to discuss anything freely here, they knew.

Albus was quite the piece, and they remembered discovering it for themselves now. They remembered confronting him. They remembered the iciness that had formed between their once rather friendly acquaintance. They remembered now. They remembered, and they knew they had much to discuss. Three pairs of had a silent conversation and came to an accord: they needed to go away before a tiny accident happened to the white-bearded bastard that called himself headmaster. Minerva took a deep breath before speaking.

"I think we might need to actually take advantage of the two months of holidays we have left... How about we go to McGonagall Manor, until it's time to come back for the school year?" Minerva suggested with a soft smile.

"I think that's perfect... I'll leave Albus a note that I am leaving to Gringotts, you can send him a patronus once you're home that you'll be spending the rest of the Hols there with Poppy for some girl time, or whatever it is that you women do..." Filius mused.

"Perfect, we should leave everything here. I think a shopping day would do us some good... Besides, we need to prepare for all the upcoming birthdays!" Poppy squealed, making Filius and Minerva smile at her amused.

She always did this when she was upset. Shopping and helping others, she said, always helped soothe the nerves. Personally, Minerva and Filius much preferred hexing things, but they couldn't very well do that at the moment. They could do that once they were within the safety of the McGonagall wards.

"You do know that stores don't open until at least nine?" Minerva reminded Poppy.

"Well we can have breakfast at your place, and then we'll go shopping!" Poppy replied, beaming at her solution.

Minerva opened her mouth to retort, but Filius smoothly cut in. Those two could spend hours bickering and jesting with each other, and frankly he wasn't looking forward to waiting for them to be done. He bid them farewell and asked to meet at the Hog's Head in fifteen minutes.

_**...In Irun, Spain (near border of Spain and France)...**_

"Ugh did I get ran over by a truck?" Marlene asked herself, sitting up on her bed of the one room flat she had bought so many years ago after tragedy had struck and plagued her life.

For a long time, Marlene had been an utter mess, and, much to her shame, she had to admit she still was. For years, she had believed that her father had been tortured to death, her baby boy and her god-daughter had been slaughtered, and her husband had gone insane with the tragedy and become the murderer of innocent muggles, but now she wasn't so sure.

She remembered some things that just didn't add up, not to mention that now, when she thought of going back to England and facing the past, she wasn't revolted by the thought. She no longer felt _repelled _by the thought of returning to England. _HOLY FLYING MANTICORE SHIT!_! A repulsion charm, really?

She couldn't believe how stupid she had been! She had just believed everything and gone on her not-so-merry way! In her defense, it _had _been Peter who had told her, but still! She should have at least gone to see what had happened inside Lily's house. She shouldn't have just ran away when she heard they had all been killed inside, and that Sirius had disappeared after hearing the news. She should have gone to their funeral. She shouldn't have left, but by the time she had realized that Peter hadn't told her the complete truth, seeing as baby Harry had survived, it had been too late. She couldn't even begin to fathom returning to England. She didn't have anything to go back to. Harry wouldn't remember her anymore. He was already eleven, and going off to Hogwarts.

Now, however, she'd be damned if she didn't return to England. She had a rat to fry for lying to her and placing a repulsion charm on her. She had answers to find, and she knew just the witch who wouldn't give her any bullshit: Minerva McGonagall. She would arrange for everything to be set for her permanent departure to England tomorrow. She had stuff to pack, a sucky waitress job at a muggle cafe to quit, and a flat to put up on the market.

**...back at McGonagall Manor...**

7:13 AM

"_Minnie, I wan't sure how to contact you, but our Mina used it nah so long ago... I didn' _remember _we coul' do tha'! Anyway, we needa talk... I'm at the Manor... floo call me, yeah?" _Tom's voice rang out clearly from the glowing horse patronus.

Three pairs stared at it flabberghasted. They weren't the only ones, and he knew where Mia was! Maybe he knew where little Alex was too! The two witches looked at each other excitedly, nearly bouncing up and down in their joy. Filius looked at his two friends amused. He hadn't seen them so happy and full of life since they had last held their favorite students' children.

"Let's go then!" Poppy cried, pulling Filius and Minerva towards the floo.

As expected, Tom immediately answered their call, and was quite surprised to find all three of them together and at McGonagall Manor. They had a short twenty minute argument, consisting of the three demanding that Tom tell them everything there was to know immediately, and him refusing just as avidly. Filius finally realizing that they weren't getting anywhere suggested that Tom come over for dinner so that they could talk afterwards. Tom instantly agreed.

**...McKinnon Manor...**

**8:30 AM**

Tom looked on in disbelief as he saw his grandchildren stepping out of the floo, followed by a blonde, who had to be part veela, and then Sirius, Harry, and a gang of redheads, who could only be Weasleys. He stood there mouth agape as he took in Hermione's gradually darkening hair. It was _almost _brown, but it wasn't quite there yet. He didn't really have time to ponder why that would be, as he took in Hermione and Draco's pale faces, and slightly slumping postures. They were weak, but at least they must be much better off than an hour ago. He shuddered thinking back on how terrible he had looked, and how bad-off she must have been.

"Alright, we've had a change of plans. My timetable has moved up several months, but we'll deal with it. I don't have time to explain everything, but we need to organize ourselves," Hermione said authoritatively, turning to face the group gathered.

Hermione quickly thought through the list of things that had to be done. With all of the people she had available she could easily do more than one thing at a time. Okay, she had this under control. She could do this, and by the end of the day, tomorrow morning at the latest, she and Draco would be complete again.

With that thought in mind, like a general, she directed her troops. Fleur was sent to contact Viktor and try to have him visit. Bill was in charge of going to Gringotts and setting a meeting with Ragnok for her. If he was finding difficulties setting up the appointment, he was to pull the trump card that Hermione absolutely loathed and inform them that it was Princess Mia who was seeking the help of her goblin friends to settle some dues. Sirius was sent to get Remus, Tonks, and Andromeda to Gringotts in around an hour. Much to his annoyance he was warned not to remain as Padfoot once inside Gringotts.

To Charlie she gave one of the more delicate tasks: his father. She was sure that his health was perilously critical. With Aunt Poppy, she knew that they had a good chance of nursing him back to health and, hopefully, being a pesky problem for either the older She-Weasel or old Dumbles or both. She instructed to return with Arthur and to avoid giving him any strong impressions, which could easily push him over the then moved on to her favorite Weasleys: the twins. With much glee and a predatory smirk, she asked them to do some weasel infestation containment, only asking to leave them a bit battered and without wands.

Hermione's eyes bore into Percy's as she seemed to measure his worth. She nodded to herself, before asking him to contact Amy AKA Director Bones, Head of the DMLE, and inform her that Mia needed her to bring a scribe and two aurors of her trust and get to Gringotts in about two hours.

She nodded at them in dismissal, and they instantly sprang into action, scattering around the house, either preparing to leave or asking for the materials they needed to perform their tasks. Harry laughed out loud as the twins were ran over by a frantic Percy trying to make himself presentable. Draco just smirked at them all. With a faint smile she turned to Tom, asking him about his efforts to contact the three members of her "Hogwarts Family." The instant Tom told her that they had already left Hogwarts for the remainder of the holidays, she asked him to have them come over as soon as they could magically get here. When Tom left to floo call to then have Filius, Poppy and Minerva floo over, she informed Harry and Draco that they would be paying a short visit to Mungo's before leaving to Gringotts.

She closed her eyes and focused on a short message to the Longbottoms, asking to meet at St. Mungo's in twenty minutes. Hermione frowned as she was a rather grotesque amalgamation of creatures sprout from her bond. Once again she cursed the broken, faulty bond that was messing with her so much. Before she knew what was happening, she saw two projectiles launching themselves at her.

**-O-**

**Hermione's POV**

I groaned as I tried to pick myself off the ground. Some things just never changed, I thought amused. Before it was me who would tackle them to the ground, now it was them. Godric, it hurt like hell. I seriously doubted I'd be able to stand for a few minutes...

"_That's what we're here for, Mia beautiful," _the flowers sing-songed, growing and stretching towards me.

They swiftly pulled Aunty Poppy and Minnie off of me, gently mind you. Somehow, they knew I was too weak to stand on my own for long, so they cradled me as they formed a tall, sturdy, yet not uncomfortable chair for me. Uncle Fili and Dragon smirked at Papa Tommy, Aunt Minnie, Aunt Poppy, and Harry's incredulous I could help myself, I burst out in giggles. They just looked too funny!

"Isn't she too old for accidental magic?" Aunt Minnie and Papa Tommy breathed.

"It's not- she- but how?" Aunt Poppy stuttered.

"She's our princess and the natural-chosen elemental," Uncle Fili said proudly.

"I'm not the princess," I muttered childishly.

I could feel my plants plotting and I didn't like it one bit. I was just about to tell them not to do whatever they were plotting, when I felt them attacking my hair. Well, not attacking per se, but pretty much! Some of them had pinned themselves into my hair and others had intertwined themselves into a small tiara on my head.

"_There, now you're a princess," _they giggled. Bloody flowers!

I groaned frustrated, making everybody laugh. It wasn't funny, and this was getting us nowhere! I took a deep breath to calm myself. We needed to get back on track. I still needed to owl Skeeter and have her meet us at Gringotts around two...

"Alright, it's not that bloody funny! Anyways, Aunty Poppy, do you think you could give Dragon a quick check over before we leave to Longbottom Manor? I want to make sure he's alright to go?" I asked her sweetly. Draco narrowed his eyes at me, but I ignored him and asked an elf for parchment, a quill and ink.

"_Why hello Rita, _

_I have a rather good, irresistible deal for you. I think it would be very worth your time. It will benefit you _greatly_. Meet me at Gringotts at 2 in the afternoon today. Ask to see Mia... I don't want to _bug _you any longer. _

_Until then, _

_You Know Who," _I wrote with an evil smirk.

Rita was going to freak out when she received the letter. I couldn't wait to see her face, when she walked in for the meeting. I could have sooo much fun teasing her, but I would have to control myself. We would need her on our side willing and more than cooperative.

"Your turn, dearie," Aunt Poppy said, smiling softly at me.

I frowned at her, before lifting a challenging eyebrow. She paused slightly, probably not knowing how to approach me. Honestly, it's not like I was going to bite her head off... well I might bite her head off, but not _literally. _

"Draco's suffering of extreme physical exhaustion and his overall vitals seem weaker than the norm, but he said you were probably worse off than him, so I need to check, Mia," Aunt Poppy said softly.

She quickly closed the distance between us as if I were about to run away. Honestly, you run away _one time_, and the reputation just stays with you for the rest of your life. I glared at Draco's tired, teasing smile and then at her determined eyes, as she began ran the first diagnostic spells on me.

Honestly, was this really necessary? We were wasting time! Suddenly, Aunt Poppy's face contorted into a slight frown, which only deepened as she ran more and more spells. Then, tears started running down her cheeks. I looked at her lost, not knowing what the hell had happened.

I was about to open my mouth to ask her what was wrong, when she started sobbing, soon slumping onto the floor. I stared in shock, still clueless as to what had happened. I asked my plants to lower me onto the ground with her. With the little strength I could muster, I cradled her into my arms. I tried to comfort her, but I had no idea what to say. I didn't even know what the hell was going on. I took a deep breath before trying to verbally try to calm her.

"Aunt Poppy, please, don't cry... it'll be alright, I promise," I told her softly.

"You never...should've known... kill them all!" she growled between sobs.

We really didn't have time for this! What was it with everyone crying around me today? Was I releasing some kind of crying pheromone or something? I don't think my already strained psyche could take anymore of this overwhelming emotional mess.

"Uncle Fili, can you please try to calm her down? We need to go get Nev and Aunt Gusta and visit them," I asked, shifting Aunt Poppy to him.

I silently beckoned Harry to me. He understood what I wanted immediately and helped me up. We all followed Papa Tommy to the floo. Aunt Minnie wanted to stay behind with Aunt Poppy and Uncle Filius, but I knew that she would be of more help at Mungo's. With that settled, we, Draco, Harry, Papa Tommy, Aunt Minnie, and I, flooed to Mungo's fourteen minutes after having sent my patronus to Longbottom Manor.

**-O-**

**Narrator's POV**

**at St. Mungo's**

"'Mione, what are we doing here?" Nev asked crushing me in an on-the-verge-of-painful hug.

Hermione replied vaguely, only telling him that they needed to see his parents, not offering any further explanation. Neville gave her a frustrated look, while she just smiled innocently. He narrowed his eyes, and she batted her eyelashes. She smiled sweetly, and he...gave up. He knew she could go at this all day. He sighed, but gave her that look that told her she better tell him exactly what was going on later. She nodded before giving him a grateful kiss on the cheek, and asking a nurse for directions to the ward the Longbottoms were at.

Unknown to her, Papa Tommy, Draco, Neville and Harry had been carefully watching Hermione as she made her way to the permanent ward at St. Mungo's. She was dragging her feet ever so slightly, as if the only way she was moving was through force of will alone. Well to them it seemed so. No one else would really notice, but Draco knew she had to feel like shit. After all, he still felt rather ill, and Poppy Pomfrey had actually applied quite a few strengthening, vitality, and agility charms on him. They exchanged a wary glance before shrugging their shoulders. What were they supposed to do, if she was too stubborn to even tell them what was wrong with her? Besides, she sure as hell wouldn't let any of them carry her around.

They were so deep in worry that they didn't realize when they had walked over to Frank's and Alice's empty beds, but they all certainly noticed when Neville and Augusta were tackled and smothered in hugs and kisses by the two former aurors in question. Neville and Augusta began sobbing, when they heard Frank's and Alice's raspy voices repeating their names repeatedly. They couldn't begin to fathom how this has come to be, but they were forever and eternally grateful. Hermione and Draco exchanged a happy, relieved smile. It seemed that the magic from their first bonding saw it fit to bring back their minds as a whole entity and not just select memories and emotions. Thank Merlin!

"Excuse me miss, we'd like to have your best healers check over Frank and Alice Longbottom before they are released today," Hermione said, approaching one of the nurses who was out in the hallway.

The nurse was about to give a cutting retort about whether she needed to be admitted into the ward herself or if she was just undergoing a bout of delusion, but Hermione gave her a look that made it quite evident that bad things would happen to her if she dared do anything but oblige. Hermione grinned ferally as the nurse nodded vehemently, before scurrying off to find the two best healers she could find. She returned not ten minutes later with two male healers in tow.

Hermione smiled sweetly at them, thanking them for their swiftness. They smiled back charmingly and promptly checked the two Longbottoms over, leaving a dazed nurse in tow. Why had she been so scared of such a beautiful, sweet young woman earlier? They young nurse made a mental note to sleep some more and maybe down a calming draught. This whole Voldemort's back business was really making her too edgy. Not that she doubted he was back, of course she didn't, or else she wouldn't be so nervous in the first place! Yep, she definitely needed more sleep...

The nurse shook her head, clearing it, before catching up to the healers, who much to their amazement found that patients Frank and Alice Longbottom had completely recovered mentally. They were a bit worried about their slightly fragile physical condition after so many years locked up in the ward, but Hermione quickly put them at ease. Batting her eyelashes, in combination with pleading eyes, subtle, innocent touches, and telling them they had a certified healer at home had done wonders and left the two healers more than a little dazed. The nurse giggled and winked at Hermione before following them out.

Smiling, Hermione, turned to her godfather and Aunt Alice.

"Mia, is that you?" Frank asked cautiously, slowly approaching her.

She nodded tearfully, before catapulting into his open arms. He hugged her tightly to him. Caressing her brown hair. She looked up into his bright blue eyes, and he smiled, cradling her face. He passed her silently to Alice, who hugged her just as tightly, as Frank enveloped a confused Harry. Harry didn't remember Frank and Alice very well, but they remembered him. Draco was next, and then Minerva and Tom. It was quite the tearful reunion.

They flooed back to the Manor, hoping that everyone was back and Poppy would not hesitate putting Frank and Alice under her care. The second they made it through Hermione was on the receiving end of two pairs of arms and a river's worth of tears. Today really wasn't her day, she thought with a huff. She did not have time for this right now! Or ever, if she really thought about it. She hated this! A LOT!

"Aunt Poppy, Uncle Fili, please don't do this to me. I'm not- We don't have time. Aunt Poppy, you need to care for Uncle Frank and Aunt Allie. If you two want to talk once we settle all of _this_," Hermione said, motioning to the gathered Weasleys and Fleur sitting in the living room, "then we can, alright? But I really need you guys to calm down. Oh, and Uncle Fili, you're coming with me to Gringotts."

She started walking toward the gathered group. They all looked at her expectantly, hoping that she'd tell them what the hell was going on. Of course, that wasn't about to happen. They were still on a very tight schedule. Instead she just looked at each individual, and awaited their report.

"Viktor eez on holidays unteel next month. I azked 'eem to come. 'Ee should be here tomorrow around lunch time," Fleur reported, with a self-satisfied smile.

Bill was followed.

"Ragnok has cleared his schedule for as long as you need him, but he insisted that you and your party have dinner with him," Bill breathed, still amazed by the news.

Hermione raised an eyebrow towards Percy, who immediately flushed. They all hid their smiles, knowing that he wasn't supposed to come back.

"The director insisted that she could make it to Gringotts with the two aurors on her own," he said, still blushing.

They all burst out in a fit of giggles, knowing full well that Director Bones had probably been driven to the edge by the enthusiastic Weasley.

"They've probably gone mad by now, not being able to use magic, but they are well and truly contained," the twins announced, beaming with satisfaction, once Hermione's gaze reached them.

Hermione's eyes, then reached the second eldest Weasley brother and his zombie-fied father. Her heart tightened at the sight of his uncooperative facial muscles.

"Charlie, you should take Mr. Weasley to Madame Pomfrey... ask her to run a full diagnostic scan on him... more thorough than what she's used to, and tell her I expect he'll be needing a good flush..." Hermione said sadly.

Charlie only nodded, still shocked by his father's menial condition. None of his children knew exactly what had happened to him, and they were scared for their father. Sure, he never really stood up for them to their mother, but he was a kind, loving man. It hurt them to see him like that, but they weren't sure they wanted to know what was wrong with him. They were terrified that they would hear something they didn't want to hear. They would wait for Madame Pomfrey's diagnostic before worrying themselves into a catatonic, blubbering state. Maybe it was just something he ate...? They could hope.

Hermione smiled sadly at them all, before turning to Sirius and Remus, who like Percy were not supposed to be there.

"Tonks wanted to go get her mum on her own, and sent us two to occupy ourselves," Sirius admitted grinning.

"In other words, you two were annoying her and she sent you away before she hexed you?" she deadpanned, raising an eyebrow.

"I think she was a bit more descriptive of what she planned to do, but you got the idea more or less," Moony Remy grinned. Hermione rolled her eyes.

Hermione turned to Minerva, and suggested that they have everyone move into McGonnagall for a day or two, while she made alternate arrangements. Everyone looked at Hermione incredulously, not knowing what she was planning. Hermione face-palmed before giving them a simple, reasonable explanation, which would just suffice for everyone. They remained silent, not believing that they had not thought things through at all! How could they have not thought of keeping things under the wraps? No one could possibly know about Hermione's abilities! She was a bundle of brains, power, and invincibility in a pretty package, they all thought. Minerva, Tom, Filius, Remus, Draco, Sirius, and Poppy, however, were afraid, very much so. Their Hermione would be a temptation for both sides, and her _efforts _against Dumbledore put her in grave danger.

Hermione, oblivious to the worry of her extended family, asked the Weasleys plus Fleur to floo over to McGonagall Manor and start settling in. She was sure the house elves would require assistance, considering the amount of visitors they would be expecting. Once the Weasleys and Fleur had left Hermione outlined the plan once more, making sure everything was set.

"Alright, we're apparating to Gringotts and settling things, hopefully finding something that can clear Sirius, meeting with Rita Skeeter at two, and starting a hunt... hopefully, with help, finding everything by dinner with Ragnok," Hermione said in that commanding tone that Sirius and Remus admired so.

Without warning, Filius took Hermione's hand and apparated her onto the steps of Gringotts, before anybody could say anything or even react. Hermione looked down at him confused. He looked at her piercingly, his eyes full of sadness, leaving Hermione confused and unsettled. He took her hand and dragged her through the main lobby of Gringotts to a room in the back. Hermione was too dazed to pay any attention to the fluent Gobbledegook being exchanged by her Charms professor and all the other white-dressed goblins, who suspiciously resembled muggle doctors.

Suddenly, they turned on her, breaking her haze. Overwhelmed by both their proximity and the fear of the unknown situation she suddenly found herself in, she started having trouble trying to control herself. Her back rammed into the wall behind her, trying to back away from the group that seemed to be closing in on her, cutting off her breath, trying to ambush her.

Filius looked on with sad eyes as she cowered away from them hyperventilating. He knew he had scared her when he had so suddenly apparated them to and dragged her through Gringotts, but he hadn't expected her to start having a nervous meltdown. Although he really should have expected it, considering what Poppy had said she found when running all of those diagnostic spells: extreme physical abuse, malnutrition, continuous physical and magical straining, _and _a bound magical core to boot! He should have known that she would perceive this approach as a threat. Furthermore, he should have foreseen that in her weakened state, she would be much more volatile, vulnerable, and defensive.

They all tried different methods to calm her, but it wasn't until the ground started shaking rather violently that they realized that their attempts were not appreciated, _at all_. The goblins gathered exchanged frightened looks, trying to see if anyone had any ideas on how to stop her outburst. One suggested knocking her out, but they doubted that would help matters. The best they could do would be to remove what she perceived as a threat: themselves. Filius, of course refused to leave, but the second it was just both of them in the hallway, she slumped onto the floor and the panicky haze that had clouded her eyes faded.

"I'm so-sorry," she shuddered, once her mind had caught up with what had just happened.

Filius looked at her incredulously. She had nothing to apologize for, if anything, it had been he who had something to apologize for, and he told her so. She, much to his consternation, didn't seem to believe him. Before he could try to make her see reason, a pair of guards had arrived to escort their _tywysoges _(Welsh for Princess) to see Chief Ragnok.

**...Ragnok's Office...**

Everyone but Draco and Ragnok, he was a fierce warrior and leader after all, followed Hermione's movements warily as she entered the room, looking at her as if she were about to destroy everything with just a breath. Hermione visibly shrank into herself, almost as if trying to disappear, or at the very least not have to see them looking at her like that, as if she were a freak. She bent her head down in shame. How silly of her, she had forgotten! They had every right to look at her like that. She, being the freak she was, had nearly killed them! Why the hell weren't they running, trying to kill her, or at least dumping her on a deserted island where she could die off, she wondered.

Draco immediately recognized what his mate's expression, and easily guessed what she was thinking. He didn't like it one bit, not at all. He was absolutely incensed. How dare they make her feel like that. He could see purple rage gathering in an angry cloud around him. He could feel himself on the verge of snapping when it happened. As Hermione made to take the only empty seat beside Minerva, directly in front of Ragnok, she tensed, making Hermione flinch. He saw her put on a fake smile as she gracefully began to pace, as if that had been her intention all along.

No one was going to get away with doing that to her. No one, and so he didn't just snap. No, he exploded. His purple rage engulfed everyone, but Hermione, causing their bodies to tense in pain from the emotional overload. They were gasping for air, their muscles spasming, by the time Hermione had calmed him down (about twenty seconds of calling his name, ten seconds of shaking, until finally she had pressed a soft kiss on his lips).

Hermione hadn't meant to kiss him, but nothing else was working, and she didn't really know what was happening, so she acted on an impulse. The second he seemed to calm down, she meant to pull away, and, if possible, make it to the other side of the room. She seriously doubted anyone wanted to be near her at the moment, and she didn't blame them. Before she could move even an inch, Draco pulled her into his lap. She made to move, but a rather nasty glare from him quickly put an end to her efforts.

"Alright, now listen up because I will only say this once. I am not sorry. The pain you all just felt is a mere fraction of what she feels every time she's treated as if she were some sort of phenomenon, every time she is taken for granted or ignored, every time she is sneered at. The next time one of you arseholes makes her feel like shite, you can expect the same reaction from me, only worse," Draco growled, his silver eyes glowing an eerie, dangerous blue.

Draco felt Hermione shaking in his lap. He could tell she was just barely keeping herself together, so he drew her tightly into himself. She was so small. She fit into him so perfectly, snuggled comfortably into his chest. Her face found itself nuzzled into his neck as she took a deep, ragged breath. She didn't know the words to express how she felt at that moment, but she knew that he knew exactly how she was feeling. Words were superfluous. With a quick, inconspicuous kiss to his jaw, she turned to Ragnok, oblivious to the shamefaced others.

"Director Ragnok, thank you for having us on such a short notice," Hermione said politely.

Ragnok smiled jovially, "I was hoping to have this meeting some time ago; however, certain stipulations obliged us to await for you to contact us."

Hermione smiled ruefully, knowing full well about those ridiculous regulations on the goblins. Meddling in wizarding affairs indeed! She shook her head, before continuing with the matter at hand.

"Well then, Director Ragnok, my brother and I have come to listen to the last wishes of our parents, Lord James Charlus Potter and Lady Lily Potter."

"_Tywysoges_, I am not certain if you are aware... but we goblins have a knack for identifying a witch or wizard. I suspect foul play, but I am not certain. Would you be very adverse to a blood test for confirmation?" Ragnok asked courteously.

Hermione only nodded, extending her hand, her eyes unseeing as her mind raced back to the book she had only started and finished a couple days ago.

_...FLASHBACK..._

_Hermione dove deep into her trunk, searching for the book, __Mutata et Specie et Occultant Identitatis, __that Draco had bought for her so long ago. She hadn't had a chance to read it before, but now she felt a strange compulsion to read it. She didn't know why, but she _needed _to read it. _

_She read avidly, unable to stop. She read and read for hours on end, not feeling the time pass. It was nearing four-thirty in the morning when she reached it. The thing she had been searching for without knowing:_

"_L' Omnes Concelamenta: The All-Concealer: _

_A complex mixture of runes, charms and transfiguration, this obscure ritual breaks an individuals ties to their blood and fate through the magic of the caster, and the strength and vitality of the caster binds the magic of the individual. _

_The incantation:_

_abscondet omnia. magicis, occultat sanguinem uitae pulchrum. fortitudinem meam vincula magicae, must be recited three times. Once as each stage of the ritual is performed. With the blood of the individual and the wand of the caster, the caster must draw first the rune for home and destroy on their chest, above the heart, then recite the incantation. The caster must then with a mixture of their blood, tears, and sweat draw the rune for prison on the individual's forehead, while reciting the incantation for the second time. The caster must then repeat the incantation, while waving the wand to and fro between individual and caster, the latter tying the former to themselves, while breaking the individual's ties to anyone else. _

_Of course, the effects of this ritual on someone who is one half of soul bound couple have been much debated, but given the rareness of such a couple, there is no way of obtaining any plausible conclusions..."_

_Hermione stopped reading at that point. She didn't know if that had been what Dumbledore had used on her and Draco, but if he had, then she didn't know what she would do. This would certainly complicate things..._

_...END FLASHBACK..._

"I'm sorry, _Tywysoges,_ but I can't get a read on you... at all. I don't know what has b-"

" _abscondet omnia. magicis, occultat sanguinem uitae pulchrum. fortitudinem meam vincula magicae," _Hermione and Draco whispered aghast.

"Sir, try me... please," Draco said hoarsely, extending his hand.

His eyes were laden with fear, as he looked into Hermione's wide eyes. What were they going to do now? What would happen if they couldn't be an official part of their families? How were they supposed to publically and politically destroy Dumbledore?

"Nothing?" Filius asked squeakily. "There is no solution for that particular ritual...it's permanent," Filius whispered.

"They don't know what effect it has on us Dragon... magic breaks fate, but we are fated to be, no magic is strong enough to keep us apart..." Hermione said softly, though with conviction.

"But-"

"Dragon, we can do this... Viktor and Skeeter will just have to meet a slightly changed me," Hermione said firmly.

"Are you sure?" Draco asked her, holding her gaze seriously. "I don't want you to regret it, Mia."

"You do know that we were going to have to go on to the second stage before the week was out or else we wouldn't have survived, right?" Hermione asked looking at him confused.

"I thought the bond would fix itself and you wouldn't be pressured into this..." Draco said, his voice vulnerable.

Draco looked away, suddenly finding a very interesting spot on the floor. He didn't want her to see how much it hurt him to have her do this without her being absolutely ready for it. He knew she felt everything was going too fast, and, honestly, it was. They still hadn't even gone out on a date, yet! It wasn't fair for her to take such a big step. The second stage was much more intimate than the first stage. Their bond would practically keep them glued to each other's sides. Their bond would be screaming at them to finalize it.

Hermione frowned. She thought he wanted to bond. Did he regret it? Well, if he did, now was the time. Technically, in a couple of days, they wouldn't be bonded anymore, and maybe the goblins or elves had a healing method of sorts that would allow them to survive long enough to take on separate paths. Sure they wouldn't live as long as they would be expected to, but he would be free, just as he wanted. Or maybe just one of them had to die. That would be better. He would have the long life he deserved, and she wouldn't taint the world with her freakishness.

"Draco... look at me," Hermione said softly, her voice firm and unwavering. Draco and Harry knew that tone. It was the tone of a determined and decided Hermione. "I need you to tell me, and don't lie. Do you want to? If you don't, maybe we can find a way to give you your life back, or maybe someone knows a way to give us a few years, so you can take your life back and find someone... to your liking," Hermione finished bravely.

Harry looked at Hermione heart-broken, and then turned to glare at Draco. Draco on the other hand was too busy gawking at Hermione. Hermione saw Draco's slack jaw and felt a pang in her chest. Did he really think she wouldn't give him a choice, she wondered. Had she been acting so selfishly that he was led to believe that he had a say in the matter?

"You don't have to be stuck with me, Dragon. I'll find a way to give you your life back, I swear it, Draco."

Hermione smiled sweetly, before pulling away from his warm, comforting, tantalizing, perfect body. She smile ruefully at her thoughts. She wasn't entitled to them anymore, now was she? It wasn't until she had began her pacing that he snapped out of his pained, disbelieving trance. She thought that he didn't want her? It wasn't the other way around, his mind yelled, not knowing whether to question his sanity or hers.

"Mia?" Draco finally choked.

"Draco, it'll be alright, really," Hermione said softly without turning to look at him.

Everyone in the room was at a loss of what the hell was going on between the two. Hermione looked at peace with whatever was going on. Draco looked shocked and horrified. Quickly that horror turned into broken-heartedness, and they were at an even bigger loss.

"You don't want me?" he choked out, his voice sharp, yet pained. .

Hermione's face paled. Her dead pained eyes turned to him, a pale silver. Draco gulped. Her eyes were... expressionless, blank, unseeing, and they scared the shit out of him. Her face lacked any emotion. It was as if she were in a trance, and it was starting to scare Harry as well. He had never seen her like this. She always had some sort of emotion on her face: calm, irritation, eagerness... but, now, there was nothing.

"I asked you to tell me the truth, but your answer was clear. You wish to have your life, so you will have it. I will not interfere as you pursue your happiness," was her hollow answer.

"Pursue my happiness?" Draco asked. She merely blinked. "Without you by my side?" he asked again. If it was possible, her complexion paled further. "How can I? How can you expect me to?"

Hermione's silver-white eyes flickered. She was barely holding on, she knew. He really knew exactly how to make her feel, both the good and the bad. Why couldn't he just let her stay numb and unfeeling, she wondered. He had practically told her he regretted ever bonding with her, and now he made it sound like he wanted her after all. She smiled wryly. She was, more likely than not, mistaken. The little hope her heart held was making her delusional, she was sure, but she didn't have anything else to lose. Her pride wouldn't be stopping her. Pride was not a commodity she could afford...ever, so nothing held her back from just giving it one last try.

"Draco, I won't hold your choice against you... Do you want to or not, just tell me, and don't lie. This isn't something that you can just dispose of later... you'll be stuck, forever."

At her words his now mercury eyes melted with relief, not that she noticed. She was still avidly trying desperately to avoid his gaze. She needed a clear head if she wanted to keep herself in check, and composure was not something that Draco inspired in Hermione, not at all.

"I love you, Mia," Draco breathed, and for a second her heart soared before plummeting, her stomach lurching, waiting for the but that was sure to come. "And I would be honored and the happiest man in the face of the earth if you would accept me and our bond."

Hermione's eyes widened comically, her mouth opening and closing, no sound coming out, as she grinned (well tried to). Finally, after a full thirty seconds of confusion for everyone but the couple, Hermione spoke. Well, she squeaked, but it was close enough.

"Yo-You really want me-us?"

"Of course, you silly girl!" Draco chuckled as he drew her into his lap again.

Hermione hadn't even noticed when she had started inching towards him again, and now she was in his lap, again. Draco grinned at the feeling of her so close. He should really work on making sure that they would always be one chair short wherever they went. Meanwhile Draco was plotting how to destroy chairs, Hermione was rearranging her list. Hermione grimaced a bit as she realized how much more her timeline would be cut short, _again. _

"Mia, would you be kind enough to explain what in the name of Merlin is going on?" Minerva finally huffed irritated.

"Well... you see... erm... well Dumbledore performed a risky, obscure ritual that removed my familial ties and bonded my magic and tied me to him and only him. The ritual is meant to change or destroy my fate. Normally, this would be impossible to reverse, but given... m-our status, it should be reversed easily enough, but not without Dumbledore becoming aware, so we're going to have to shift my plans around... A LOT," Hermione rambled, wringing her hands nervously.

A confused "what?" came from everyone but the two goblins in the room, that appeared gobsmacked and more than a bit in awe. Hermione and Draco appeared to be having a silent conversation. He knew that she didn't want to reveal what they were just yet because it would take too much time, but he just wanted to get it over with. Of course, in the end, Hermione won, not like Draco had ever stood a chance really.

"Anyways, explanations on that later. Let's just get started. Ragnok, I fear we will have to withhold on the will reading until tomorrow, but I do have other matters to attend to with you, if you are amiable," Hermione said, immediately taking command of the room.

"Of course, tywysoges," Ragnok grinned.

"Alright, well, in the time Harry and I spent at the Leaky Cauldron, we discovered the secret of how Voldemort survived that Halloween night so many years ago. He made horocruxes, which are soul vessels for a severed fragment of a soul. Harry, because Voldemort is the utter idiot he is, is connected to Voldemort and his horocruxes. We need to retrieve them, and then destroy them all at once, so he doesn't have a chance to stop us," Hermione informed them swiftly.

"What do you need goblin help for?" Ragnok asked, the disgust in his tone evident.

Goblins despised the malignant use of soul and blood magic. It was such a corrupt form of their magic for goblins were the first race to understand and expand on blood and soul magics. In the goblin culture matches made in heaven were revered, for they were a pure representation of their roots.

"We would need goblin warriors to help retrieve the abominations... and a containment chamber that can hold fiendfyre... or a goblin blade infused with basilisk venom or phoenix tears... also one of the horocruxes may be here..." Hermione mused.

Ragnok only nodded looking sick to his stomach. Harry looked a sickly green that was completely crashing with his eyes. Hermione's heart sank as she saw how distraught Harry looked. Without taking her eyes off of Harry, she asked Ragnok for a room with more privacy so she could find out where the vessels were.

**... Harry's mind... **

Hermione cursed inside Harry's head, as she lamented once more that she couldn't bring Harry or Draco in with her. They had insisted to stay outside, and try to provide her with some magical stamina so she wouldn't be too drained coming out. She knew they were right, of course, but she didn't want to be in He-who-feared-death's messed up head by herself. She got to the dark, solid, sickening barrier once more, and wasted no time flowing under it.

This time, she wasted no time exploring. She closed her eyes, and focused on the darkest cracks in his mind, the markings of where his soul split and became darker and darker. It was painful, moving towards that which repulsed her most, but she would just have to follow the branching, after all the events were connected. She'd reach the less pronounced division and then work her way up (or would it be down?) to Halloween 1981.

She promptly found the crevice she had been looking for, and with open eyes, jumped into the memory thread. First, was the faded one of the diary. Myrtle's death had been mere casualty, for she hadn't been the intended target, but Tommy dearest reveled in the "pest's demise". Following it, was the death of the devil's spawn procreator. Tom Riddle senior didn't even have time to be surprised by his "mini-me" when the flash of green reached him. A ring glowing black, soon found itself on the madman's finger. Then, it was his his uncle in the Gaunt shack. It was a bloody, maniacal death, which resulted in a sullied slytherin locket, a booby trapped shack, hiding the ring, and a trip to a cave that didn't seem all that unfamiliar to hide the locket. Then it turned into a pair of red-headed twins that looked a lot like Fred and George. Their deaths promptly went into the creation of a Hufflepuff cup soul vessel and Ravenclaw's diadem.

She would have to return back and go into an adjoined memory to find out their locations. She continued down the thread and saw the death of a nameless auror and the prompt conversion of a too large snake. It had to be either magical or magically enhanced. That thing looked positively lethal, but supposing it was magical or even magically enhanced, it would be the most connected to Harry, meaning that if they destroyed all the horocruxes Harry's includeed, it would end up dead as well because of the strain on the soul fragment.

Hermione had been so absorbed in the theoretical possibilities that she hadn't noticed she was approaching the vein she was particularly wishing to avoid. She could feel herself begin to shake as she followed down, and got closer and closer to that dreadful night. She really, really didn't want to relive it. She had enough with the stupid nightmares, and she had a feeling that it would be a hundred times worse, having to see it through his eyes.

_...Voldemort's view of the event in 3rd person... _

_"Such a waste of such precious talent."_

_"Bad! Hurt Mummy! Me hurt you!" the tiny girl with fire red curly hair cried._

_A sneer plastered itself into his face. He raised his wand against the impudent child, the curse of the tip of his tongue, but he faltered as a white and blue glow extended from her hair to the tips of her fingers glowing brighter, stronger, than the green before it. A powerful surge of wind pushed him into the wall. Gold and red glowing flames replaced the blue and white glow. Seconds later said flames rocketed directly into the pale figure with glowing red eyes, catching his robes ablaze._

_"The bitch burned me! I'll show you," he hissed, his slitted eyes narrowing, raising his wand once more._

_"No! Not brodah! You!" the tiny girl shouted as she held her baby brother's hand. The boy began wailing, crying out for help, while the girl appeared strong, confronting the red-eyed monstrous man. _

"Avada Kedavra!" _he hissed, a green beam leaving his wand as both children cried, "NO!" in unison. _

_The meshing on branches, roots, and vines that had catapulted through the window to shield the children sent the spell ricocheting back to him, causing his recently severed soul to fly through the room, searching for anything that could host its need for magic._

The last thing she saw before the memory ended was Voldy's soul making Harry's newly acquired scar glow black and then red. Hermione sunk to her knees. This had been a thousand times worse than her dreams. She could feel Voldemort's pleasure at having killed her mother. His desire to keep her for his own means, until she had burned him. His thirst for ending her brother.

It was horrific, and she wanted to end both of them, yet the other person was only a tall slim black blur in the periphery of Old Tommy Boy's sight. She knew it wasn't the rat, since the blur was too tall and slim, but, like in her dream, she hadn't been able to see who he was, but, boy was she going to find out...even if it wasn't how she expected. Definitely not how she expected it...

She had gone back and found that the Hufflepuff cup had been gifted to Bellatrix crazy bint Lestrange, and Hermione deduced that it was in Gringotts, based off of what she had told him before they started getting frisky, _again._ The diadem, on the other hand, found its way back to Hogwarts. It was in a room full of junk on the seventh floor in front of a tapestry with Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls ballet.

Hermione felt herself grow heavy, and immediately knew that the two idiots that refused to accompany her, and "fuel" her journey were getting tired. She rolled her eyes before making her way out, eyes closed, looking for the exit. She certainly had no desires of seeing Voldy fuck Trixy or seeing him torture some unfortunate soul. If she had kept her eyes open, she would have seen some very interesting things regarding a certain dungeon bat.

...

"Bloody hell, 'Mione, how do you keep it up? I don't even think we were helping much!" Harry gasped the second Hermione made it out.

"Perseverance and an actual consciousness of magical outflow and speed of core regeneration," Hermione replied flippantly.

Draco wasn't sure as to whether Hermione was okay, or if she was putting up a strong front. He couldn't get a good read on her. It was like she was numb... or maybe she was just using Occlumency to not have to feel or think about anything. Draco frowned at the idea of her hurting and just pushing it all away, but he knew that he couldn't very well try to get her to cope with things right now. She wanted to get everything done _now_, and he wanted to restore their connection as soon as bloody possible, so emotional talks were definitely out of the question.

-O-

**Hermione's POV**

Once they had force fed me a pepper-up potion and a magical restorative broth, they had me withdraw my memories of what the horocruxes looked like and where they were, so that they could be projected from Ragnok's pensieve. Uncle Fili sputtered indignantly at the sight of the diadem, but otherwise the room was dead silent as the images flashed through. Once the images had all been shown twice, they all turned to look at me. I raised an eyebrow at them, revelling in their bashful blush. Guess I was going to direct this one too.

"Ragnok, the cup, as you saw, is in the Lestrange vault. Make sure you check for curses and the like. I'm sure the crazy bitch wouldn't actually just leave her precious master's cup in the hands of creatures she thinks are beneath snake should drop dead when we destroy all of the other ask for Kreacher, and see if he can take some people to the cave and get the locket... the cave probably has very tight security. I'll be going to the Riddle's house. It should be relatively simple to find the Gaunt shack from there... Harry you should probably come with me. We might need your parseltongue," I directed firmly, hoping that they wouldn't question why the hell I knew where Riddle Manor was. "Also if you could call for Dobby-"

There was a pop of apparition, and it seemed that that was all it took for my words to sink in. Fuck!

"Mistress Mia calls for Dobby?" Dobby piped at the same time that Sirius and Draco not so quietly asked why the fuck I would know where the Riddle Manor would be. Lovely, I grimaced.

"Dobby, do you think you and Winky would be willing to bond with Harry and I?" I asked sweetly, ignoring the glares that the males in the room gave me for my not so subtle evasion of the rather crudely-phrased question.

"Yous be letting Dobby and Winky bes bonded to yous and Mister Harry Potter sir?" Dobby asked with bright eyes.

I opened my mouth to assuade his doubts, but he was gone before I could, leaving me with the testosterone-crazed males and a very wary Aunt Minnie. Well, this was going to be an interesting conversation, not..

"So, Angel, oh so great one, I ask again: how the fuck do you know where Riddle Manor is?" Uncle Siri growled.

"I know a cousin of Tommy-boy's father," I replied primly.

"How do you know him or her?" Uncle Fili asked, his black beady eyes narrowing.

"I've been doing jobs for him since I turned seven."

"That's rather ambiguous, don't you think, Mia dear? Care to explain why you were working since such a young age, and what kind of jobs you've done for him?" Aunt Minnie said in a tone that brooked for no argument.

"And please do include a detailed assessment of his treatment of you," Ragnok added his tone commanding as well.

Shit, what was I supposed to say? Was I supposed to tell them that the man was a perv that only gave me jobs because I was a pretty face to look at? Or that he wanted to get some ass with brains to boot? Was I supposed to tell them about the crude remarks he began making once I started _developing_? Or that he paid me more than well for all the secretarial, gardening, and maid jobs I did for him as incentive to keep coming back, along with an invitation to take up permanent residence with him every time I finished? They weren't going to like it one bit...

"I needed the money, so I did some garden work at first, then some housework, and eventually some secretarial managing, and he paid me very well," I answered promptly.

"And his treatment of you?" Draco prompted.

"He was friendly and paid me well," I repeated.

That should have been enough, right? Not like they would need to know all of the unnecessary details. Hell, if Harry or Draco don't say that they didn't believe me or that they thought I was hiding something, then no one would think any more of it, and Harry has never paid close enough attention to me to even suspect that anything is off, and Draco although very, very good at reading me, without the bond, he shouldn't be able to see through my answers.

"So did he take you to Riddle Manor, or are you just expecting him to take you there when you ask?" Harry, Merlin bless his soul, asked.

"The latter. He'll take me there, and then we can ask Dobby to bring you along, once I'm sure that it's the right place and have an inkling for where the shack is," was my reply.

"I don't like it," Uncle Siri announced.

"And I don't care. We have to meet with Amelia, explain the situation to her, go out on the chase, and then be back here by two to meet with Skeeter, so we can destroy the vessels and listen to the will first thing tomorrow morning."

I was glad to see that that had efficiently cut off any possible brewing arguments, even if it didn't have any effect whatsoever on the glares, but a girl needed to learn to compromise, and as long as we weren't losing any more time, I was more than alright with what I was getting. Ragnok went off to assemble the goblin warrior teams that would be dispatched for the hunt: one for the vault, one for the cave, and another to accompany Harry and I to the shack. Uncle Fili dragged Aunt Minnie and Uncle Tommy back to McKinnon Manor, insisting that they wouldn't be needed until tomorrow morning, and that they would be much more useful helping Aunt Poppy or setting up McGonagall Manor for the upcoming days. Once Dobby and Winky had returned, they had been given the job of searching for the diadem in the hidden room at Hogwarts. We all agreed to have them bonded to the House of Potter once we had the will read, and then take them as our personal elves. After settling that, Sirius, Harry, Draco and I went to find Amy and her entourage.

-O-

**Narrator's POV**

"You want us to grant _him_ a trial to prove that he betrayed the Potter's?" Rufus Scrimageur growled, once Hermione had finished explaining for the umteenth time.

"Amy are you sure he's an auror? I thought they all had to pass an intel test along with a score more?" Hermione quipped, on the edge of incinerating the impertinent auror's arse.

"They do, and he usually isn't this thick," Amelia sighed.

"Alright, let me explain _again," _Hermione said in an overly sweet voice. "Sirius Black never received a goddamned trial. You bunch of idiot's saw Pettigrew's sodding pinky on the floor, along with twelve dead muggles and an enraged Sirius Black with a wand in hand, and assumed that he had done it. You were all stupid enough to not even bother with checking his wand, force-feeding him some veritaserum, or even questioning him, so I think it's about bloody fucking time your shit department tried to make amends for your fucking incompetence. Don't think I don't know that the DMLE is supposed to be an independent subdivision of the Ministry of Magic! Instead you wankers, Head of the DMLE Scrimgeour, are too busy trying to keep the bribes coming in and your arse safe, so you just do whatever that idiot, gullible Fudge says!" Hermione roared, making everyone in the room flinch, especially Amelia.

As director of the DMLE, Amelia Bones had the ability to do just about anything with the department as long as she stayed within the budget the Head had outlined and didn't prod into the cases that the Head had locked. Interestingly enough, the Snape trial, the Potter murder investigation, the Longbottom break-in investigation, and the Black assault investigation had all been under this lock. Scrimageur, on the other hand, had shit his pants. The girl that had been explaining so calmly had finally snapped and become a fury.

"Er-uh-umma-ba-de-ah-" Scrimageur stammered, not quite able to get a grip on himself yet.

"Alright, let me explain what's going to happen. You are going to unlock every single bloody case that isn't available to Amelia. You are going to stop skiving off the department's money. You and Amy are both going to do a thorough screening of every god-damn person in your department and take new oaths. You are going to give them all a refresher on intense combat skills, and you are going to have your department on high alert. or else I will _personally _see to it that you are declared unfit to do your job, have Amelia take hold of your position, and have Fudge suckered into giving the DMLE full support, are we understood?" Hermione growled. "If you don't make use of your balls to do your job, then there's no reason for you to have them," Hermione added sweetly, making the men in the room gulp audibly.

"Y-you can't do that! You-you're threatening the authority!" Scrimageur persisted.

"You have authority? Really? Well you better make use of it, and clean up your act," Hermione hissed back sarcastically.

He didn't have a reply to that, and he couldn't very well report her. She wasn't of age, so he couldn't just stick her in a cell. Besides, with Amelia and Shacklebolt there, there would be an investigation, all of his dirty dealings would be uncovered, and his (ahem) benefactors wouldn't be happy, but if he went with this he would probably end up being under Dumbledore's shady thumb, and that wouldn't be any better. He had been Slytherin for a reason, if he had to be tossed around, he wanted something out of it.

"I refuse to be under Dumbledore's thumb and continue with shady business in the name of the _greater good_, at least Death Eaters and crooks have clear motives," Scrimageur sniffed.

At his words, Amy, Draco, Harry, Hermione and Sirius burst out laughing. A true Slytherin at work, well a Slytherin with some sense of morals. Shacklebolt, however, was relieved. He hadn't yet joined the Order of the Phoenix, but he had been asked to several times, actually. If the DMLE was going to shape up, then there would be no need to join the rather shady clandestine crime fighters. **(A/N yes, I know Shacklebolt was already in the Order, but in my opinion he's so awesome and badass that I didn't want him to be a blind Dumbledore follower.)**

"We do not expect you to follow Dumbledore like a little lost puppy, nor do we expect you to greedily gobble down the table scraps that anyone else offers you. That would defeat the purpose of the "whole man up and use your balls before she castrates you," talk don't you think?" Draco deadpanned, seriously wondering how stupid one man could be.

"Oh..." Rufus Scrimageur blushed as he stood up, making for the door.

He had taken more than enough embarrassment for a lifetime, thank you very much. Amelia was quick to follow him, seeing that she wanted to oversee just how much of an effect Hermione's words had had on the git.

"Miss Granger?" Kingsley Shacklebolt's deep voice brought Hermione's attention to the tall dark man looking at her curiously.

Hermione motioned the others to go back to the meeting room that Ragnok had left at their disposal. She smiled at the older man, and his eyes narrowed in speculation. There was something about this girl, something different and very very special.

"Hermione, please auror Shacklebolt," Hermione replied with a soft smile.

"Very well, Hermione, I prefer Kingsley. I just... you're a very strong, special girl, and that's a great thing, but it can also be... very dangerous. I just- If you ever need anything, or find yourself in a tight spot, send me a patronus, I'll only be an apparition pop away, alright?"

Hermione was confused as to why the older wizard was making such an offer, but she, more than anyone, knew how much a friend/ally/some help could go in a time of need. So she decided to leave it at that, and not look the horse in the mouth.

"Thank you Kingsley," Hermione smiled, watching the wizard walk away.

_... time break... _

Sirius had been left to talk with Kreacher, and Hermione had been able to slip away from Harry and Draco, or so she thought. In reality, they were just waiting the half hour it should take her to get to the man's place before slipping under the Potter heirloom and having Dobby pop them over.

For once, the winds would not be telling their chosen manipulator of their presence, they decided. They had been unable to interfere in their chosen's life, due to the restraint placed on her magic. They still could not fully aid her, but they could do enough. Her family would do the dirty work, all they had to do would be to not let their chosen know that they were there.

Just as Harry and Draco were about to leave, a somber-faced Sirius came back, locket in hand. He quickly explained that his brother, Draco's uncle, had died retrieving the locket, when he discovered it significance and had given Kreacher the task of destroying it. Harry and Draco stood motionless, shocked by the tale, before Dobby asked them if they would be needing him or not. Sirius agreed to accompany them disillusioned.

Dobby popped them over just in time before Hermione walked through the door, so they were able to slip inside unnoticed. The three invisible males bristled as they saw the unhidden lust that the man looked at their Hermione with. To them it seemed that his mind was running through all the naughty things he could do with and to her as he told her how lost he had been without her capable hands, the innuendo had not been lost on any of them.

Much to their horror, Hermione didn't seem scandalized by his behavior in the least! She merely smiled softly and ignored his advances. It was like she was used to his behavior. He asked her to clean his room, and she obliged with a nod. They watched horrified as he ogled their girl as she leaned over to fix something, or bent over to pick another thing up. They couldn't do anything but watch angrily, since he hadn't touched her. She would likely unleash the fires of hell, if she knew that they had followed her. They would have to wait, and wait they did.

They waited, and waited. His comments were getting more and more crude, as he got closer and closer for comfort. Hermione was used to this and didn't even bat an eyelash. She just smiled and carried on with the tasks that he gave her, waiting for him to bring up how rich he was now that he had inherited the Riddle fortune. It took him quite a while, but he brought it up soon enough.

"Beautiful, as you know, I haven't gone to Riddle Mansion since I inherited it. I know you're not staying with your parents, so you wouldn't have to ask for permission. Do you think you could help me get it up and running?" he purred softly, stepping even closer to Hermione.

His body was just a hair away from being pressed against hers, as she looked up at him through her eyelashes. She looked so beautiful, he thought. He knew she would be an eye-candy when he gave her the first job, but gods, she didn't do anything by half did she? He smirked, thinking about all the things she could be not doing by half with him. He hoped that she would actually say yes this time. Surely having her in his mansion for weeks, while she bent and leaned and got flushed and sweaty and wearing the clothes he had stocked for her in his closet, would be enough time to have her eventually at his full disposal. The thought made his body react _very _visibly. Hermione blushed deeply as she felt his reaction poke her stomach, but she wasn't going to back out now.

"That sounds lovely, Mr. Riddle, but I don't have any clothes on me. I couldn't possibly leave with you now," Hermione replied innocently. She knew full well about Mr. Riddle's little collection.

"I've asked you to call me Adam more times than I can count, sweet-tums," he chided her softly, reaching out to stroke her cheek gently, reveling in the silkiness of her skin. He could just imagine what she would feel like in _other circumstances_. "We can go now, if you want... I have some clothes that'll fit you nicely. I was hoping to give them to you for your birthday, actually. Think about it as an early birthday present, yeah?" he said softly, his hands running up and down her arms.

The four magicals in their room felt they were going to be sick. Hermione wanted to hurl him away from her body, just like all the other times he got close to her, but just like the other times she refrained. She refrained because she needed him. Instead she smiled brilliantly and pressed a lingering kiss on his cheek before sashaying out the front door and smiling enticingly as she leaned on his car provocatively. Hermione was shaking, trying to settle her stomach.

Adam Riddle was salivating at the sight. Draco was incensed. He didn't know who he wanted to kill: her for doing something so stupid and reckless, or him for being such a paedophilic shit. Harry and Sirius were gobsmacked. She was being sexy with that bastard of an arsehole to get what she wanted. Was she crazy, they asked themselves. She was playing with fire, no pun intended!

Riddle all but ran as he got the bags he had prepared for when she finally said yes. Oh yes, he knew it was only a matter of time before she agreed. He knew how much of a blessing he was for her, so much better than her relatives. How could she possibly resist her loving neighbor? And who was he to resist an angel in need?

Harry and Draco wouldn't be able to get into the car unnoticed, but Sirius would, so it was decided. There was no way in hell that Sirius was going to let her be alone with that man in such a confined space. Sirius would go in the car, and they would have Dobby pop them over as soon as they got there. Luckily, the bastard's car was a convertible 1969 Firebird, so he didn't have too much trouble getting into the back, and Hermione was unaware.

Under any other circumstances, she would have seen the shimmer of Sirius's disillusioned figure, but she was too busy prepping herself for the wandering hands that the drive practically ensured. She would fall asleep on the drive, or at least pretend to, but she really didn't think that would help matters at all.

She would have to play the grateful, adopted puppy, blond bimbo. She would have to blush and smile and giggle... or she could make the advances herself, and keep him distracted. She could smile and play with his hands, maybe even tickle them with her eyelashes... She'd have to flirt and maybe unbutton her dress a bit. The idea made her want to run far far away, but it was a lot better than having his hand running up her thighs and probably even into her panties.

She swiftly slipped into the passenger's side and unbuttoned the top two buttons of her dress. She bit her lips as she tried to fix her hair. Sirius could see the fearful anxiety in her eyes as she readied herself, and he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his lap, but just a second later the fear was gone and replaced by a coy, sultry look that completely took him aback.

Seconds later, Arse Riddle jumped into the car with too much enthusiasm for a man in his forties, his excitement still visible. Hermione smiled shyly at him, before lowering her eyes towards his length and blushed beautifully. A predatory smile graced his face, as he backed out of the driveway, his hand slipping towards the edge of her dress. Sirius watched amazed as she didn't even flinch. She blushed, and bit her lip, before innocently trailing a finger up and down his forearm. She smiled at him, asking for permission which he readily gave. She took his free hand in hers. With seductive innocence, she traced patterns onto his palm occasionally working her way up to his wrist and forearm. She could feel his muscles flexing under her ministrations. For a middle-aged man, he was very fit, but that didn't make her feel any less dirty.

By the time they had made it to the mansion, he had taken her hand and guided it to his upper thigh. Slowly guiding her to the area that repulsed her the most. Inside she felt like hyperventilating, emptying her insides, and then hyperventilating some more, all while showering and bathing in boiling hot water and scrubbing fiercely at her skin. Fortunately, they arrived at the Mansion before they got to that part of his anatomy. Hermione smiled at him and fawned over how big and beautiful the Mansion was. It really was nice, and with a bit of cleaning it up it would be breathtaking, not that Hermione or Adam had any cleaning in mind.

Hermione was distracted looking for the path of trees and any signs of magic so that she could find the Gaunt Shack. Sirius was busy trying scouting for Harry and Draco, since he had heard the pop that signalled Dobby's appearance. None of them noticed Adam's advance, until Hermione started struggling. He crashed his lips on hers. He pressed his body into hers as he aggressively shoved his tongue into her mouth and his hands went under her dress. Hermione started screaming into his mouth as her small fists pounded on his chest, trying to inflict some harm or just get far enough to run, but her squirming seemed to just excite him further.

Apparently he was done with games. Her flirting had driving him over the edge. He wouldn't be waiting any more. She was driving him crazy and it was only fair that she see what she did to him, whether she wanted to know or not. She was alone with him, or so he thought, and there was nothing she could do. She would be his to keep. His and no one elses. He had worked on her for years.

Hermione was panicking. He was too strong and she was still too small. She knew she needed to calm down lest she accidentally kill him. She wouldn't be able to live with the guilt or be able to cover it up, but she wasn't calming down. She couldn't think! He was ruthless in his assault, and she felt so, so vulnerable, more vulnerable than she had in a long, long time (since she had been told she was a witch). Lucky for her, Draco, Harry and Sirius reacted for her. Sirius pulled her away from Adam and the two boys attacked him.

Hermione shivered in Sirius's arms trying to come to her wits. She was shaken, but she knew there had been a risk, and she couldn't break down right now. She had more than enough time for that later, once she scrubbed herself raw. Right now, she couldn't let them kill him. They needed to obliviate him and send him into the alley next to the pub he frequented, so he could think he was mugged.

"S-stop! Please, we need to go! Dobby! Winky!" Hermione cried, running to stop Harry and Draco's flurry of limbs.

She got the plants nearby to drag him away from them and prop his unconscious body up. She didn't want to have to touch him. Harry, Sirius and Draco, meanwhile, looked at her wordlessly as she frantically removed all evidences of her having been with the bastard. She burned the bags of clothes then summoned a gust of wind to scatter them. She rinsed the inside of his car and then vaporized the water. She nodded to herself her face expressionless, wrangling her hands, the only sign that she wasn't as calm as she looked.

"Winky can you shrink his car and go with Dobby to drop him off at a pub near his house? He knows where it is," Hermione asked, her voice level.

"Miss should be letting Misters kill the pervy bad man!" Winky harrumphed.

"Please Winky, Dobby, not now," Hermione pleaded with the elves, who weren't happy at all.

They looked into her eyes, ready to make her see reason and get her to let them dispose of him, but they saw she was on an edge. They would find a way to dispose of him without upsetting their mistress. Maybe they should go to Lady Bonesy.

"Let's go. The shack should be that way," Hermione announced, walking towards a path that looked familiar.

Her arms were crossed protectively across her chest. She wished she could transfigure her dress into a full body suit or at least repair her dress, but she didn't even know where her wand was anymore. She would have to wait until Winky and/or Dobby came back, **if **they came back to see if they could find her wand. The three males trailing behind her were of course oblivious to her turmoil. They were too incensed to see anything other than their fury.

By the time they had made it to the heavily warded place that they imagined had to be where the shack was, the three of them had calmed down enough to recall that they had an important task to accomplish. Hermione, being as observant as usual, saw a snake trail, and decided to follow it. Soon enough, they reached a post with two dead, yet live-looking snakes on it. Harry was tasked with the job of gaining them access by asking for entrance in parseltongue. Apparently, that was all it took to bypass the securities.

Hermione could feel just about all the defenses drop. There was one more that she could still feel, but she, somehow, knew he had made it so that he and only he could get in without a hitch. Anyone else trying to get in would be either killed or gravely maimed at the attempt. Maybe the defense in place made it so only one person could go in at a time?

Without a second thought, she encaged Sirius, Harry and Draco in a cube of ice, as she allowed some roots to create a path for her to step on. She was definitely not touching anything in there. Her rather unconventional method, although uncomfortable for her in her sandals, actually allowed her to get through without difficulty. Unknown to her, Tommy Boy had used his uncle's blood to his advantage and warded the floor of the shack to exterminate anyone without Gaunt blood running through their veins at contact. Walking towards the feeling of malice and repulsion, she promptly found the ring. A vine handling and various levels of vegetation cocooning later, the gaunt ring lay harmlessly inside a plant vault that would not be "unlocked" until it was time to destroy the vessels.

It was with a sigh of relief that she made it back to where her cube of ice once stood. One look at the three wizards in front of her, told her that they were more than livid with her, but she honestly didn't give a single flying shit. She wanted her wand. She wanted to be clean. And-and She wanted her dad, more than anything right now. He would have made her feel strong and happy and safe and loved unconditionally and protected and gods she missed him!

"No time Hermione, no time. Many things to do, very little time," she muttered to herself.

There was no time for any of this. Nothing happened. She was fine. She needed to suck it up. If she couldn't find her damn wand, she could get another wand. She was not defenseless. As long as she either stayed calm or had no qualms about killing or maiming someone, then she was more than equipped. She had a weapon in her fire, the earth and plants fighting alongside her, and the air and water giving her their power. She was not vulnerable. She was not weak. She just needed to train and grow stronger. She still had time before getting to Hogwarts and she could continue her training there in the Shrieking Shack.

"Let's get back to Gringotts," she muttered, calling for Winky and leaving Sirius, Harry and Draco to find their own way back.

...

They had all of the horocruxes in a containment room, where Sirius would unleash some fiendfyre on them at the cue. Harry had called a dementor to the containment room next to the "horocrux containment facility." Hermione went over her list once again, to calm her nerves. Winky had popped her to the Goblin's hospital wing, where they had treated the small bruises that Riddle had caused, given her a mild calming draught, and repaired her dress. Much to Hermione's relief and delight, Winky had found Hermione's wand and given it to her once she had been treated.

Draco caught Hermione's eyes, and what he saw shocked him for a bit. There was an antsy, fearful yet determined edge in her eyes. Was she panicking about Harry, the bonding, or something else entirely, he wondered. If Lily had been alive she would have slapped all three wizards upside the head. They had completely forgotten about the Riddle incident, as they would call it from now on. Of course, Winky and Kippy would quickly solve that problem when they brought her mistress home, not that Harry, Sirius or Draco knew this. If they had even suspected, they would have been making escape plans to an unplottable island somewhere that had wards against angry house elves.

A quick nod from Hermione was the only warning Harry got before she burst through his barriers and dragged Draco along with her. Together, she and Draco rushed to the edge of the darkness, to the beginning of Voldemort's mind. Craftily, she slipped under the thick walls and before crossing completely through, she pulled Draco through. Draco went pale from the suffocating darkness.

Damn, Hermione thought, as she saw Draco get sicker and sicker with every second they spent in Voldy's mind. She knew they would have to act soon, lest Draco collapse on her, but she wanted to get to the crossroad between the snake and that Halloween night, to maximize the effect on the horocruxes. By the time they had made it there, she was supporting most of his weight. That ability of his could really be a pain in the arse sometimes, Hermione huffed internally.

"_Dragon, we're here... Are you sure?" _Hermione said softly, brushing a gray curl from his eyes.

"_I love you, Mia. I've never been more sure of anything in my life," _Draco replied, smiling as he weakly drew her into his body.

"_I love you too," _Hermione whispered, just before his lips grazed hers.

Like the first time they felt raw, pure magic flow between them, only this time it was a million fold stronger. It was coursing within, without, around and throughout them . It was so so so much. It was bordering on the edge of painful. Hermione felt as Draco's glamours faded one by one. Something deep within her was shaking violently, as if it were boiling or becoming superheated.

Draco pulled her tighter against him, deepening the kiss, and all she could feel was bliss. Then, just as she was losing herself in the warm, loving, earth-shattering kiss, it snapped. Something, the thing that had been rattling within her snapped. She could feel her power, her ties to the world. For the first time in forever, she felt grounded. She no longer felt lost. Another surge of pure magic and love pulsed through them and travelled outwards. If either of them had had their eyes open, they would have seen how brutally their love magic was attacking the madman's mind. Everything crumbled and turned to ash with the mere presence of something so pure.

In the outside world, a thick black cloud was exuding from Harry's scar. The dementor eyed it hungrily, waiting in anticipation of consuming the dark soul, but their chosen master had given his orders: wait until the soul piece was fully out and then feast on the soul piece and on it alone. It was a shame that he couldn't get to the souls in the objects next door. They were as dark as the one coming out of the chosen's forehead. It was rumored that dementors were foul creatures, feasting on people's souls. Well, it was true, but they revelled in sucking dark souls. They revelled in ending darkness, but they themselves had turned dark in order to not be negatively affected by their dark diet, hence the rather negative psychological effect they had on the humans around them.

Finally, the tainted soul piece was pushed out. He paid no attention to the other three humans as he delved into his meal. When he had finished his food, he took time to sense the three magicals. One he knew to be his chosen, one he sensed, much to his surprise, was his princess, and the other appeared to be her mate. Interesting, the dark, cloaked creature thought. He would have to inform his companions of this development. After over a decade of thinking their princess was dead, she returned to them and now had a mate. He thought it interesting that he hadn't sensed her before, but didn't give it too much importance. He had news to spread. With that jubilant thought, he left with a bow towards the three magicals, unable to see that all three of them were still unconscious.

In the next room, Sirius had already unleashed the fires of hell on the abominations. With much effort, he and the goblins were able to close the door before the horocruxes started fighting back and screaming out in agonizing anger as they were destroyed.

In Crouch Manor, the now home of Barty Crouch Junior, the Dark Lord and his snake were writhing in agony. Much in accordance to Hermione's prediction, Nagini the Snake perished as her insides imploded from the physical strain vessels. Snake-face, on the other hand, was fine as soon as his mind/soul had been consumed by the dementor for it had been the love that forced the horocrux out of Harry that had made it feel as if every fibre of his body had caught fire.

**A/N Okay, so this is already really, really long, so I'm going to stop here. I had planned on putting it all together in one chapter, but there is just too much! The next chapter will have the Skeeter meeting, Marlene, Krum, and Hermione being Hermione. Oh, not to mention some pissed off female elves... well pissed off females in general.**

**BTW ummm less than half of the chapter is actually edited so I'm sorry for any annoyance or headaches caused by improper grammar and spelling errors... I should get back to editing this chapter once I have the next one written and revised, so yeah... sorry.. **


	22. Facing Demons

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Much to my misfortune, no amount of wishing and daydreaming is going to change that... now, I'm depressed. **

**A/N Thank you so so so so so much to everyone who reviewed, followed, and/or favorited! It makes me very very happy. **

**Anyways there was a one month gap in between my previous two chapters and during the summer I will try to not let that happen; however, once I start university in September, I make no promises. I will not abandon this story, but updates will likely be either shorter, farther in between, or erratic, maybe even a combination of those...**

**Alright, I fixed a small, yet very annoying, I'm sure, mistake that writeratheart007 was kind enough to point out. Thank you so much! **

**Fred POV**

It had been a couple of hours since we had all tumbled into McGonagall Manor. Sure, the name said it, but we weren't really expecting it to actually be McGonagall's house. There even pictures of young McGonagall! (I got to say she was a very fine specimen of a women, not that I was interested or anything, but wow! She had been young, and hot!) Why would she live at Hogwarts, when she had a house like this? This was her house, for generations. Why would she leave it?

It was another question we needed answered... not that it had anything to do with Hermione. At least we didn't think so, but it would be nice to know whether our transfiguration professor is batty or if there was an actual reason for which she would abandon her family legacy and such nice, attentive house elves.

"So you've met Miss Mia?" George continued 'subtly' interrogating the chatty, bubbly house elf that he and I had been 'helping' in the top guest rooms.

"Oh no sirs, but we all bes knowing of Miss Mia. She cames back only little ago. Missy Minnie used to talks about Miss Mia and us maked cookies for hers when Missy Minnie bes living here, but that bes long times ago. Last time she bes here was when she goes after Dumbly sirs when we heards a-about Masters James and Lily. We bes hoping it bes lies, b-but," the small elf broke into sobs, but we got the idea.

So, apparently, McGonagall had been close to the Potters, and she couldn't bare to be here after they had died, or disappeared, in Harry's case. The question was: how did 'Miss Mia' tie into this whole story? Not to mention, the whole possibility that Hermione, who was called Mia by Madame Pomfrey and McGonagall, could be the same Miss Mia that the elf was talking about. What if she was one and the same? What did that make Hermione? She is muggleborn, isn't she?

"Okay, so she's a bloody powerful witch, impersonating Carina Mckinnon, and an everything elemental-"

"-and out of nowhere McGonagall, Madame Pomfrey, and Flitwick are all tear-eyed, jumping on her and all, she and _Malfoy_ are a thing, and we still don't know what the hell is going on," George and I summarized.

We knew that the day she was gone, she could have gone off with Malfoy, since they had to have had dates or at least met up with each other if they were an item (...which hurt more than a bit... I mean he had been an utter git to her for years, and we've been nice to her since the beginning...), but that didn't explain why Tonks happened to be gone to. Sure she could have really been having tea with her mom, but we had a feeling that she and Hermione were together, so that would mean that they were both having tea with Tonks' mom _or_ they were doing something else entirely, and if they were it had to have been important. If it hadn't been important, and they just wanted a girls' day out, they would have told us, so we could cover for them.

"I think we should see if Hermione is Mia..." George suggested.

"We could casually go into rooms looking for pictures," I conceded.

"You tell the beautiful Fleur we're exploring-"

"I sweep her off into a gallant adventure-"

"As I tell the rest to look for pictures of any signs of baby/toddler Hermione," George finished with a grin.

I felt my own face stretch into a grin. We might just get somewhere. If we found anything out, maybe we should really look into becoming the first wizard detectives... kind of like that James Bond folk that Harry mentioned that one time...

Much to my dismay, Fleur refused to "fouiller." How dare that woman call my detective work snooping? I was absolutely offended. I admit that maybe, _maybe_ I had overreacted when I sent that tiny, not so tiny, burst of water towards her, but the flower vase was _right there_, and she had just told me off! Besides she had deflected it with her wind thingy. It wasn't like she had actually gotten wet. Yes, I admit, I forgot that Veela and water just didn't go, but that still didn't justify that stinging hex to the arse. In retrospective, she _could _have aimed at my bits... I just hope that George and Co. had better luck than I did, and that she hadn't found them yet.

**-O-**

**George's POV**

"Why does this matter so much?" Percy asked as we finally found what looked like McGonagall's personal study.

"Because it does," I glared at him.

What else was I supposed to say? We were being nosy, but, honestly, it wasn't just because we needed to poke into her business. We wanted to know if there was anything we could do for our Hermione. Fred and I needed to know if she was in any trouble, or if we could just help cover for her, even if it was just to meet with the albino ferret. Besides, they were family; they weren't supposed to ask questions.

"You love her," Bill said softly.

Merlin, why did he have to be the smart? He hit the mark on the first try! I felt myself blush, and knew that I wouldn't be able to deny it. We could read each other so well, it would do no good to do so.

"Yes, we do... Fred started liking her, her second year, and he was finally going to make a move, but then... well Percy knows, and he gave her up... it would have been fine, if things had gone as planned, but then they started looking for her, and she ended up at headquarters and we fell hard," I sighed.

"And now she's with Malfoy," Charlie finished heavily.

"It doesn't matter. We weren't going to act on our feelings but-"

"It still hurts," Bill concluded.

I nodded before shrugging my shoulders and scanning through the bookshelves. We were looking for something Hermione-ish, so maybe there was a book intended for her, or maybe a photo album. I scanned through the thick, advanced transfiguration, runes and charms tomes, before hitting a child's book: _The Tales of Beedle and Bard. _I was about to skip it, when I realized it was very much so out of place. It wasn't following the scheme by which the books were organized. McGonagall's bookshelves were grouped by subject then by author, without care to alphabetization, but this book was smack in the middle of the runes section next to books by Barnabas Babblas.

Carefully, I took it out of its place. It was a very, very nice copy, even though it looked a bit worse for wear. I opened it with care, almost as if I were afraid that McGonagall would know I had touched it afterwards. My eyes examined the outside, but found nothing too out of the ordinary. The covers were beautifully decorated even though charred around the edges. I opened it, and saw a slightly darkened inscription that left my mouth hanging open.

"_Miss Hermione Rhea Potter on this your third birthday, I, Lady Minerva McGonagall, have decided to gift you with a book ;D I'm sure that when you are much older you will read the previous sentence to your friends at Hogwarts, trying to convince them that ol' Professor McGonagall actually has a sense of humor, but I'm afraid my reputation precedes me. You will have no luck... unless you and little Harry take after your parents, then I may not be able to resist my lil'uns :)_

_Anyways, my dearest Mia, this book, I hope, will allow you to enjoy the tales of your childhood. This was the first book that was ever read to you, and will be the first book of your future ample collection, considering how much you already love them. I know that you cannot really read as of yet, but I have no doubts that you will soon be able to, and will most likely have read it a hundred times over by the time you graduate from Hogwarts. _

_Never forget to enjoy the pleasures of life like a child. Revel in every little miracle and don't forget to immerse in the beauty of the world, both natural and printed. _

_With much love,_

_Aunt Minnie_

_P.S. Tappy says 'Happy Birthday, Miss Mia!'_

_xoxox" _

Hermione was Miss Mia, and she was Hermione Rhea Potter, sister of Harry James Potter, and she was Carina McKinnon, supposed niece of Lord Thomas Alexander McKinnon. Merlin's hairy arse!

"What are you all doing in here?" Fleur screeched, dragging me out of the room by the ear before I could put the book back.

"Ouch! Are you insane woman?!" I hollered.

"I cannot believe you all. Eez zhis 'ow you repay Madame McGonagall's 'ospitality, by znooping?" she seethed, letting go of my ear and turning to glare at my shame-faced brothers.

"Fleur, love, we weren't snooping," Bill refuted softly.

"Oh, really? You were not going through Madame McGonagall's zhings wizhout 'er permission?" she countered sweetly. Bill could only laugh embarrassedly. "All of you weel wait in zhe sitting room with Frederic until zhey return, comprennez?"

"Fine," we all muttered, as we shambled to the sitting room.

I hid the book in the hook of my elbow, anxious to show Fred what I had found. We probably wouldn't be able to discuss anything with the others because of miss dictator, but at least we had solved the puzzle of how Miss Mia fit into this whole thing. Now, we just needed to know why the hell Hermione hadn't told us she was a Potter. She had to have known, since she didn't seem surprised when they had pounced on her, but that also raises the question of why in the name of magic they had acted as if they hadn't seen her in years, when they obviously saw her all the time at Hogwarts.

**-O-**

**Hermione's POV**

I felt the connection snap back into place, and come back a hundred times stronger than it had been, flooding me with relief. I felt myself being pulled into unconsciousness, and couldn't fight it off, no matter how hard I tried. I was so _tired_.

**-O-**

**Filius POV**

It had been an hour since the magic had settled. Well, it wasn't really settled. If I recalled correctly, it took a few days for their magic to settle completely, but it had been an hour since the light show had ended, and they were still knocked out cold. Harry had come to about two minutes ago, but he was the only one thus far that had regained consciousness.

I escorted Harry to the waiting goblin healers, who immediately gave him a pain relief and a pepper-up potion. Not knowing what else to do, I levitated their two unmoving bodies back to Ragnok's currently unoccupied office. Less that fifteen minutes into our rather boring vigil, Hermione snapped into awareness, leaping into a slightly defensive stance. An inexplicable panic flashed in her eyes as she quickly took in her surroundings. The second her eyes reached us, she relaxed, and turned to rouse Draco.

As Draco begged for five more minutes, I took in the differences they had undergone. Hermione had her original vibrant, curly red hair. I smiled fondly. She had her mother's color and her grandmother's wild, luscious curls. She seemed to have stayed the same height, a few inches shorter than Lily, but with a _potentially _curvier silhouette, much like Dorea's. I say potentially because, with the slight changes to her body, her undernourishment became quite noticeable. The only difference in Draco was his hair and skin, proof that he had just been under a strong glamour. His hair had gone from the trademark Malfoy straight blonde to the Sirius's curly black. His skin had gone from Narcissa's sickly pale to Marlene's fair.

"Draco, get up," Hermione prodded more forcefully. At Draco's grumble, she took a more aggressive approach. "I only have five minutes to meet with the dung beetle, and I need you and Harry to come with me, now!" she hissed with a blow to his shoulder every three words.

I flinched slightly at the violence, but I had to agree with her, there wasn't much time to waste. They had already overslept. As Draco righted himself, she asked me to guide them to the lobby, where they were to meet with Skeeter. I quickly obliged, and then set off to retrieve Neville, Minerva, Tom and Remus, since they would be needed for the will reading.

**-O-**

**Narrator's POV **

"Who are you? I was led to believe that I would be meeting with _her_," Rita growled impatiently, her tone full of disdain.

"Hold your _antenna _Skeeter. I _am _her, and we have much to talk about. Now, shut it and follow me, before you find yourself in another jar, capire?" **(A/N capire is understand in Italian)**

Skeeter got the message and followed the three teenagers as they asked a goblin to lead them to their meeting room. She followed in silent curiosity, as she pondered the reason for her being there. She had no idea what was expected of her, and knowing that there was no love lost between her and 'that girl,' Skeeter hoped that whatever she would see herself obliged to do wouldn't be too terrible. They entered the dimly lit room and sat at the table wordlessly, causing Rita to start panicking.

"Oh, you can sit if you like. Although this shouldn't be too long of a meeting, it'd probably be best if you were comfortable," Hermione said disinterestedly, piquing the nosy reporter's interest.

Once Skeeter had sat down, Hermione began the introduction of her favorite part of her plan.

"Now, as you no doubt recall, not too long ago, I forbade you from slandering our name until the day of your death and from publishing _anything _about Harry or me for a year _or else_... Due to recent happenings, however, I would like to retract that _stipulation __**and**_ give you plenty to write about. The only conditions are that I revise whatever you are intending to publish and that it be published with my revisions, you change something and we'll test out the bug exterminating charms I've been working on, do you agree Miss Skeeter?"

"You can't expect me to just agree to this without knowing what you'll be giving me to go off of. I mean this condition of yours would apply until the end of time, from the way you're putting it, and a very painful death if I don't! What insurance do you have that your information will actually be worth life-long censorship?" Skeeter countered.

Hermione raised an eyebrow before smirking. She gestured towards herself, Harry, and Draco giving her a look that said 'must you really ask.' Skeeter glared at her before nodding defeatedly. Hermione grinned ferally.

"Since I have information to use against you if needed and neither of us likes having a paper trail to come bite us in the arse, I expect you to honor your word, and I will honor mine. Now, these two revelations I am about to make, I expect to be kept under the wraps, until I tell you it is time. First of all, the young man with the black curly hair is Draco Alexander Black, son of Sirius Orion Black and Marlene Black nee McKinnon. As of now, there are only a handful of individuals who know him by this name. He is more commonly known as Draco Abraxas Malfoy. As you can guess with the changes that I have undergone, I am not who I thought I was. A while back, I discovered that I was born Hermione Rhea Potter, daughter of James Charlus Potter and Lily Potter nee Evans, older sister of Harry James Potter. The only reason I'm telling you this is because you'll probably encounter it during your information gathering. _Anyways_, I want you to interview Harry, and I mean a full interview: his life before and during Hogwarts, uncensored, but with no crazy specula-"

"Really!? Oh I can't wait! Do you ha-"

"No crazy speculations." Hermione continued, glaring at Rita for having interrupted her. Not that Rita had actually noticed, she was too busy thinking about everything that would come for her just with that interview.

"Hold on... why now? What are you gaining from this?" Rita asked slowly, just realizing that even if she was a Gryffindor, she wasn't doing this just to boost her career.

"Well you see the interview alone is supposed to question the security of Hogwarts, sanity of the Headmaster, and shine a new light on the person that Harry is and what he's had to face," Hermione replied nonchalantly, causing Skeeter's eyes to shine just as ferally as Hermione's.

"And your ultimate goal?"

"Unearth the bastard that Dumbledore is, and destroy the pedestal everyone has him on, thus obliterating all of his power, while making us look like victims leaving the public vulnerable and defensive of us, giving us a damn good chance at fixing the disaster that Wizarding Britain is," Hermione smirked.

Both boys were quite horrified of the sight before them: the blonde and redhead both cackling gleefully, a wicked glint in their eyes. The two boys gulped hard, thanking Merlin and all the gods above that they weren't Albus Dumbledore.

"Hermione, I do believe we will be getting along smashingly from now on," Rita said sweetly.

"Perhaps, but there's still more. I would greatly appreciate it if you could come with me Monday, five days from now, to meet with Fudge. It'll give me some leverage over the bumbling fool and it'll give you access to ministry news and a juicy story," Hermione waited for Skeeter's enthusiastic nod before continuing. "Also, I'd like you to write a lengthy article, maybe even a book, on Dumbledore's life. The man behind the legend kind of thing. I could get you interviews with the Longbottoms, Bones, Blacks, McKinnons, and of course the Potters, but you'll have to do more of the young Dumbledore research. I'm sure the book will sell wonderfully if you make it out to be as a book that praises Dumbledore, but turns out to be quite the opposite," Hermione smirked.

She could practically see Rita salivating at the thought of all the juicy facts she would be uncovering, not to mention the money she would be making. She couldn't wait! Add to that the fact that with the brightest witch of her age revising her writing, she was bound to avoid any of the negative feedback she was used to getting after writing particularly provocative pieces. Rita knew that sometimes her quill got away from her, but just didn't know how to reign it in. It just seemed so much more interesting the way she wrote it. She didn't have anyone there to do damage control or help her modify her writing so it didn't cause such a reaction. She just took the brunt of the few people that would actually throw a fuss over whatever she had written, having someone like her helping her would be a very nice change.

"You've got yourself a deal!"

And so the two made a pact to end the manipulative, evil, delusional old man's reign over Wizarding Britain.

...quite a few minutes later...

It was an exhausted Hermione that slumped into a chair in Ragnok's office. She, Harry and Draco had been the last ones to enter the room. Filius watched her curiously. She seemed to be alright, no signs of anxiety or panic in her demeanor or stance. He relaxed, brushing away his worries. Hermione, to the surprise of Draco, had partially occluded her mind, in order to keep him from sensing her fatigue and overall emotional instability. It shamed her to no end that Mr. Riddle had had the upper hand in their "encounter" and it had shaken her to no end.

In all honesty, she just wanted to get the will read, go to Aunt Minnie's, sleep, and wait for Viktor. She was sure that Viktor would be able to get her into shape, enough to be able to defend herself without a wand. He was a professional quidditch player after all. He had to stay fit, and not to mention that the training his father had ingrained into him made him more than capable of teaching her the basics, and, luckily, since it was purely physical training, her currently unstable magic wouldn't hinder that.

"The last and final will of Lord James Charlus Potter and Lady Lily Potter nee Evans reads as follows," Ragnok began. "To our dear Aunt Minnie, Minerva McGonagall, we leave the advanced transfiguration journals and tomes in the Potter family vault, and to Filius Flitwick, we leave the charms books and journals in the Potter family vault. We hope that these will allow you to further your knowledge of the subjects you so adore. To Remus 'Moony' Lupin, we leave 100,000 galleons and our cottage in Wiltshire. We hope that this takes off a bit of the stress that comes with your furry little problem. Never forget you are worth it, Remus, and watch out for our mini-marauders.

"To Thomas Alexander McKinnon, we leave 17 Diagon Alley, we know how much you wanted to have a nicer place for your bed and breakfast. Tom, you were like the father I missed so dearly. I know you'd never admit it, but Marls and I saw how much you hated being so restricted by that damn contract, not being able to have the Cauldron all niced up. I'm sure an apothecary would be better for the dank mysteriousness that that locale's meant to have. Make your dreams come true, Dad.

"To Sirius Orion Black and Marlene Black nee McKinnon we leave the custody of Harry and Hermione. Take care of them and never let them lose themselves in power. To Draco Alexander Black we leave our spring cottage in Versailles. We hope that you make good use of it. To Neville Longbottom we leave our summer house in Spain. Neville, as our godchild we loved you as one of our own. It is our hopes that you, Draco, Harry and Hermione grow up together as siblings.

Now, to our precious babies, we leave the rest of the Potter fortune, heirlooms, and properties to be distributed equally between both. Harry, as the male heir,is to inherit the Peverell family invisibility cloak, use it well. Hermione as our eldest, is to be Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, and as such be mistress of the Potter Ancestral Home in Yorkshire until the day of her marriage. She is to pick up mantle at age 14, the age of magical majority.

"Hermione, if you ever feel lost with house matters, remember you are not alone. You have Tom, Marlene, Frank, Augusta, and even Sirius, although I'd always double check whatever advice he gives you. Harry, learn as much from your sister, while she's got the reigns of it, as you can. I'm sure you'll both do wonderfully. Harry, Hermione, never forget that you are loved. You are not alone. We love you so so much. Be safe."

All the occupants in the room save Ragnok had tears flowing freely down their cheeks. They were all stricken with grief, but at last they were given some closure, since there had been no bodies to grieve over. After a few minutes of mournful silence, Hermione's eyes widened at the realization that she was now Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. It would make a few things easier, but also complicate so, so many things. She would not be able to keep it under the wraps, since she would have to be presented to the Wizengamot and the Ministry within a month of accepting her status and a coming out ball was a social must shortly afterwards.

"Lord McKinnon, here are the keys and deed to your new locale. Mr. Lupin an account has been created under your name, and here is the deed to your property, and the keys. Mr. Longbottom here is a reusable portkey and the deed to your property. Mr. Black, the same goes for you. Lady McGonagall and Mr. Flitwick, the items in question have been transferred to your personal vaults. Lord Black, as you well know the custody documents were valid at the instant of Lord and Lady Potter's death, so that's that. Now, Ms. Potter, if you could please give me your hand," Ragnok said using a most professional tone.

Hermione was still in shock and could do nothing more than obey. The instant Ragnok placed the Potter family ring on her finger it resized to fit her finger and thinned enough to be considered feminine. The rush of old magic that rushed through her, lifted her out of her numbness. She could feel the love and support of generations and generations of Potters before her.

"Excellent, the family magic has accepted you as Head. Now, here is the portkey and deed to the Potter ancestral home. It is reusable. Now, as you are officially emancipated, you are considered an adult in the eyes of the law. I'm sure you are aware of what that implies.

"Now, Mr. and Lady Potter, until the day that Lady Potter marries, both of your inheritances will remain combined in the Potter family vault. However, have in mind that it is split evenly between the two of you, as such you are incapable of taking more than is yours. This is a chest that is keyed to the both of you with one-time portkeys to each of the properties. As of now, you are free to visit each of the properties that belong to you and decide which ones will be a later date, we expect to see a list of which properties will be going to whom before giving either of you the will or reusable portkey to the properties.

"As you can imagine, the same procedure must occur for the family heirlooms. This task has a bit more leniency, since you have until Lady Potter marries to accomplish it.

"I hope this won't be a problem. If it becomes a problem, the bank can and will arrange for the division of both heirlooms and properties. This of course can be done regardless, if you so wish, but personal likes and dislikes will not be taken into account at the time of executing these actions." Ragnok finished formally.

"I think 'Mione and I can handle it without too much of a fuss," Harry interjected, finally finding himself able to speak. Hermione nodded in agreement when Harry turned to her for her opinion.

"Very well then, I believe that is all you wanted to attend to today, tywysoges," Ragnok smiled.

Taking the statement for the dismissal it was, all but Hermione stood and began to exit the room after a short bow in respect of the goblin leader.

"Ragnok, please stop referring to me as something I am not," Hermione asked, her brows furrowed slightly in frustration.

Ragnok laughed amused as he shook his head stubbornly. He couldn't do that.

"You became the princess and mistress of all creatures the instant you saved the Royal Creature, our king and protector. He bestowed upon you the loyalty, service, and protection of all his creatures. He named you his princess. The fact that you do not accept the power of your title does not mean that you do not hold this power. This is indicated by your Chosen, your brother, who per your wishes, has the protection of all creatures and the loyalty and service of those who wish to gift it to him. Do not shy away from the power you wield Tywysoges Mia, just as you do not shy from your responsibilities and morals. You are our protector, as much as we are yours," Ragnok said warmly, pride evidently shining in his eyes.. (**A/N Chapter 19 has a bit more on this... it's after Hermione and Draco kiss...the him she mentions she couldn't just let them hurt was actually the Royal Creature... kind of like the King/God-like ruler of all creatures.**)

"I-I..." Hermione hesitated.

She knew that what he said was true. She had always felt and given into the need to protect or help all creatures. It was just that, now, she was so afraid of all the power she possessed. Her astuteness, her quickness, her magical prowess, her elemental abilities, her nearly infinite magical core, her position in the magical and creature societies. Now, she had so so so much power, and she was terrified of what it could do to her, of what she could do with it.

"Ragnok, would you be available another day to meet with me in private?" Hermione asked timidly. She needed someone to give her council, and who better than the leader of Goblins himself? He had to know of power's temptations.

"Of course, tywysoges. I will owl you with a suiting time, yes?"

"Thank you," Hermione smiled, standing.

"The House of Potter's financial ledger, family grimoire, and the paperwork of all the companies your family owns or holds a share in have been sent to your personal study in Potter Manor, I would recommend you go over these at your earliest convenience, since these have been out of management for quite some time," Ragnok advised.

Hermione smiled brightly at him, thanking him for everything before joining the others. Tom, Draco and Neville appeared to be the only ones that had noticed she had stayed behind. Much to Neville's frustration and Tom and Draco's rage, the others looked very much surprised when she approached them and suggested that they all go to McGonagall Manor before deciding what they were to do next. Hermione called for Dobby and Winky as Sirius opened and closed his mouth, still wondering where the hell she had come from. Hadn't she been with them all along?Just as Winky and Dobby appeared, Sirius's voice appeared.

"W-where the hell did you go? Weren't you with us the whole time?" Sirius spluttered.

Tom immediately stomped hard on Sirius's foot. Sirius howled, but Draco didn't notice. All his attention was on Hermione, as he saw and felt the pang of pain she felt at Sirius's words before disappearing almost as quickly as it had come. Draco was about to snap at the inconsiderate arse of his father, when he saw Winky step forward and stomp hard on his father's other foot, causing him to howl in pain again. Before Hermione could react to the scene in front of her, Winky stepped forward and popped Hermione to McGonagall Manor. Dobby took it upon himself to do the same for Draco, Neville and Harry. The others could find their own way back, they decided.

**-O-**

**Fred's POV **

It was already four o'clock and the blond, French Veela dictator had not let us move from the sitting room. It had been hours since George had discreetly handed me the burnt children's book. Like him, I was left unbelieving. Hermione was Harry's older sister! Biologically! She wasn't muggle-born, and she hadn't told us!

We still weren't sure if she had always known, knew now, or was still in the dark, but nonetheless we still felt like utter shit, not betrayed exactly, but still. Mother had to have known, and she never saw it fit to even hint at it. Dumbledore we were positive knew, and we had never overheard a single peep.

My stomach grumbled loudly for the millionth time since we were being held captive in this wretched room, devoid of food. It had been _hours_, and we hadn't even had a full, calm breakfast! I would die of hunger, I was sure! From the mournful looks we Weasleys exchanged with each other whenever she wasn't looking, I knew we were all suffering of the same malady: starvation. That woman was sure to be the death of us! We needed food damn it!

"Oh arretez wizh zhe ugly looks! You will not be eating wizhout zhe presence of our 'ostess! And do not dare give me zhose chien eyes, Guilliame! Eet eez your own fault! Eef you and your brothers hadn't disrespected Madame McGonagall's 'ouse like zhat, you would be allowed to ask zhe nice 'ouse elves for refreshments!" Fleur fumed, her eyes darkening as she barely contained her Veela fury.

Suddenly her eyes spaced out for a second. Her eyebrow twitched slightly, before her eyes narrowed again. She stood up and called for one of the Manor's house elves. Why was she allowed to call for them, and we weren't?

"Pardon, I believe zhat zhere eez a young man named Viktor trying to gain entry, n'est pas?" she asked the elf.

The little elf nodded his little head in response. Fleur smiled, and asked him to bring him directly to the sitting room. Again the elf nodded again before popping away and popping back with Krum, international quidditch star/god, in tow! Bloody hell, didn't he say he would come tomorrow? Well at least now she's all smiles. She's bloody terrifying when she goes all Veela on us.

Fleur glared at me. Oops, I must have said that out loud. I shrank back, knowing the fury that was about to be unleashed, but luckily, before she could tear me a new one, Winky (Dobby's female friend, who we met last year in the kitchens) and... Hermione (?) popped into the room. George and I exchanged a look and gulped.

Merlin, she looked so beautiful. She was simply radiant. Her bushy hair was no longer bushy. Her vibrant red locks, so much richer than our ginger hair, was curled into vivacious, wild locks. She looked skinnier, yet curvier at the same time. It looked like she had either spent a couple of months starving herself, or was recovering from chronic undernourishment, but was meant to have some delectable curves. Her eyes were the same color they had been when she had gone all 'enraged mother nature' on us minus the ethereal glowing bit.

She blushed brightly under our stares, but before we could tease her about how she was losing her touch, or she could turn the tide on or berate us, Dobby popped in with Neville, Harry and a guy that looked like a younger Sirius with slightly lighter skin. He seemed familiar... really familiar, but I couldn't place it.

"Bloody hell, Malfoy? Draco Malfoy!?" George exclaimed suddenly.

My eyes widened as I looked at him again. Godric, he was right! Why the hell did he look like Sirius?

"It's Draco Alexander Black, now, actually, and I'm sure he'd appreciate not being called Malfoy," Hermione muttered, as she was forced into a chair by Winky.

My eyebrows went up as I saw the firm glare with which Winky pinned her to her seat. Something had happened, and the second I looked at George, I knew that he knew it too. Once again, we were interrupted before we could ask or say anything. Tom, Sirius, Remus, and Professors McGonagall and Flitwick apparated straight into the entrance of the sitting room, and they didn't look very happy.

"Why the hell were we left behind?" Sirius growled, glaring at Hermione.

My eyebrows, once more, travelled upward, when I saw Hermione shrink minimally into herself, before a hard, resolved glint appeared in her eyes and she sat up defiantly. Something had definitely happened to her. Under normal conditions, she wouldn't have shrank into herself. She wouldn't have had to steel herself to stand up to Sirius's accusations, she just would have done it, on instinct. The fact that she hadn't done it meant that whatever had happened had shaken her. I looked around the room and the only other ones that seemed to notice and reach the same worrisome conclusion were Neville, George and Tom. Krum just looked lost in his observations. I could tell he was seeing every single little thing, but his face was devoid of anything that could clue me into what he was thinking.

Mal-Draco had obviously noticed her shrinking into herself, and thus had turned to glare at Sirius, but he didn't seem to be worried about something having happened recently to cause such a reaction from her. The arse probably thought that Sirius had just hurt her feelings or some crap... then again, I couldn't really blame him... George, Neville and I were around her so much, we knew just about every single one of her mannerisms and could actually read her (whenever she had her guard down). Tom just seemed to _know._

**-O-**

**Narrator's POV**

Before either Draco or Hermione could tear into Sirius for his... lack of tact, Winky sent him sprawling on his arse. Dobby immediately went to her side, both standing defiantly before the spluttering wizard and the shocked witches and wizards. They waited not even a second before calling for Poppy, Kippy, and Kreacher.

While the humans were still too shocked, the elves had a swift, silent conversation in their maternal tongue: elfish. Had Hermione been in her right mind, and not frozen in shock by Winky's reaction like the others, she would have realized that they were talking about her recent incident at the Riddle place. With a final nod, the elves turned to their Mistress Mia and stood protectively around her.

With a snap of their fingers, Harry, Draco and Sirius found themselves petrified and floating in front of the elves in a triangle formation with Sirius at the forefront. Harry and Draco were utterly perplexed, wondering why the hell they were in trouble with the obviously pissed off, protective elves. Sirius on the other hand was fearing for his life, never had he been so terrified in his life. The way that they were glaring at him, with such disdain, truly made him feel like utter shit, but the anger in their eyes that expressed just how much they desired to inflict harm on him was paralysing.

"We made it very, very clear Master Sirius that yous had to treats Mistress Mia Miss nice. Did us not be tellings you this?" Kreacher hissed, his eyes blazing.

"What bes making you think yous have the right to yells at Missy Mia?" Poppy growled.

"You says she bes dear to yous, but yous let her out of yours sight and bes letting her do's dangerous things after what happens with bad Riddle Man?" Winky shrieked, tears in her eyes.

"Miss Mia Miss bes strong. She bes kind. She bes great and selfless, and you threes care not for her. She must bes protected. She bes special!" Dobby roared, self-righteously.

"Mistress Mia goes through worse thing woman can suffers through, and yous not take care of hers. Do yous not understand how much it be scares and be hurts her!?" Kippy hissed, rounding in on the three floating, incapacitated figures.

"You guys... it isn't their fault... I-I... it was a moment of weakness..." Hermione trailed off, her eyes filled with unshed tears and a haunted look that left the room frozen.

They had never seen her like that. She looked so scared, ashamed, and lost... She almost, almost looked broken, and it broke their heart to see her like that. Minerva, Filius, and Pomona, who had come out to see what the commotion was all about, had tears in their eyes from seeing Hermione in so much pain. They were caregivers at Hogwarts, and they hadn't had a clue of what she had gone through with the Grangers, and, now, that they had found out and had vowed to heal and protect her, she had been hurt terribly once more. Tom, who was trembling with rage, had the exact same thoughts running through his mind, sans the Hogwarts bit.

Draco and Harry openly had tears running down their cheeks. They hadn't thought... They had completely forgotten about it as soon as she had trapped them in that stupid cube. They had been so angry at her for having left them behind that it had completely fled from their minds. It didn't justify anything, and they felt so so terrible about it.

Sirius was ashamed. He hadn't worried about her. She had looked fine by the time she had come back from the shack, with the horocrux in tow, and so he hadn't really thought much of it. He had allowed himself to think that after everything she had gone through, that had just been nothing in comparison, and so hadn't affected her really. What was wrong with him? How could he be so insensible, so cruel? Such an arse?

Fleur was the only one who had broken into silent sobs. She was not the only one that had understood what the elves had implied had happened to Hermione, however. Viktor had also picked up on it, and was finding it really hard to reign in his inner beast. His nose and Fleur's Veela senses told them that Hermione was still _untouched_, but an assault like that...it was unforgivable, and Fleur could relate.

Fleur knew exactly what kind of effect it had on a person. She knew just how shaken and weak and vulnerable it left you feeling. Being a Veela practically ensured at least one attack of such heinous nature, and knowing how such an attempt left you feeling, Fleur, in all honesty, thought that she was taking it all very well... too well. An exchanged look with Viktor told her that he thought the same. It was almost as if she was used to being assaulted and abused, they thought, and they didn't like that at all.

The older Weasley's were at a loss. It hurt them to see such a nice, strong confident girl with such vulnerability in her eyes. The twins and Neville on the other hand were torn between being livid and sweeping Hermione into their arms and locking her in a tower far from harm's way. Since they didn't think that being angry would help at the moment, and knew that they couldn't just lock her up in a tower, they settled for joining her petit protectors at her side.

"Maybe not bes Mister Harry Potters and Mister Dracos faults. They bes boys and too youngs to really knows what it do's to girls, but Sirius sir... he bes knows... he see'd what it be doings to girls... he bes surviving first war... he be knows, and he be not cares. He be lets you alone!" Kippy screeched, glaring daggers into Sirius's unmoving body.

"W-What happened to her?" Tom finally asked shakily, murderous rage underlying his tone.

"Nothing," Hermione interjected firmly, her chin set defiantly. "Now that you're all here, I thi-"

"No!" Dobby protested, turning to glare at her.

"You will bes resting!" Kippy added.

Before anyone could blink, the three female elves had disappeared with Hermione. They had her in sleeping attire and under a sleeping spell before she could even begin to protest. They returned downstairs, as soon as they were sure that she wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. At the female elves' reappearance and nod, the two male elves popped upstairs to watch over their Mistress. They trusted that the females would be able to put them all in their places.

"Please, can someone tell me what happened to our Mia?" Professor McGonagall pleaded as she sunk into a chair.

"I believe someone attacked 'er," Fleur replied in a whisper, but everyone heard her.

Viktor found himself unable to control himself any longer. He couldn't bear seeing his beautiful friend so hurt, not when he couldn't take her into his arms and keep her safe, not when he didn't have her to calm his inner beast, not when her scent was so full of disgust and shame. He couldn't bear it any longer. He needed to let off some steam, and so while everybody else was digesting the bitter news, Krum slipped outside.

Everybody's faces drained as they reached the same conclusion as to what Fleur meant by attacked. They felt queasy. How could someone do that to Hermione? She was so small. Yes, she was beautiful, fiesty, and brilliant, but she was so petite, so innocent. How could someone even think about forcing themselves on her, less so actually try?

Tom could feel his magic getting away from him. He shot an apologetic glance at Hermione before leaving the room himself. He needed to blow some things up, and he couldn't wait much longer. He made his way into the McGonagall training room, where the dummies in there would take the brunt of his rage.

"Could you three please release the three idiots you have there? I'd like to tear them a new one myself," Neville growled, rage evident in his eyes.

"You can have him once we're through with them," the twins hissed, their eyes murderously icy.

"You'll only have their carcasses to deal with, boys," Remus snarled, his eyes glowing amber.

"You will do no such thing! Now, I want all males, but Sirius out!" Professor McGonagall snapped before taking a deep breath to calm herself. She forced a smile onto her face before continuing, "we girls just need to have a few words with him."

"Harry, Draco, you both owe Hermione the best sodding apology of your miserable existences, and I expect you all to see that she's not some superwitch. She has feelings and needs love and support as much as we do," Madame Pomfrey added brusquely to what her dear friend had so eloquently said.

The elves had already released Harry and Draco, who were standing shakily by Neville and the twins. All of the Weasleys and Harry, Draco and Neville nodded frantically, their faces pale, before scattering out of the room as fast as their little legs could carry them.

The women (elves included) shook their heads at their antics. It wasn't like they were going to kill anyone... maim, maybe, but kill? No.. not yet. If they could track down the bastard that actually had the gall to lay his filthy hands on her, then there would most definitely be a murder happening.

"Now, Sirius, what should we do with your sorry arse?" a very livid Professor growled as Poppy the elf freed Sirius.

"I-I didn't mean to, Minnie... I don't know what's wrong with me. What's wrong with me?" Sirius sniffled, his hands covering his face.

"You bes mean to Mistress Mia, you bes rude, a-an'" Winky broke off, shaking in rage, not knowing how to say what she wanted to say.

"And you bes a not-sensitive jerk!" Poppy added in a screech, not having Winky's problem.

She knew exactly what she wanted to say to him, not in English of course. Her English was not ample enough to cover everything, but her elfish was certainly more than enough. She began cursing at him quite avidly. Although Sirius couldn't understand exactly what she was saying, his flinching and wide eyes certainly left no doubt as to whether he got the message or not.

"You bes blinds by yourself!" Kippy added, once Poppy had finished her litany of curses, about to begin digging into Sirius once again, but couldn't find it in herself to continue.

The man before her had been rendered a complete and absolute blubbering mess. He had somehow ended up propped against a wall, rocking to and fro in fetal position, sobbing and asking himself what was wrong with him. All of the females' anger and indignation dissipated at the heartbreaking sight. Fleur's heart sank at the sight of the haunted look of loss and agony in his eyes.

Hadn't he spent years alone, unjustly imprisoned, surrounded by dementors? It was no wonder he lashed out occasionally. He couldn't have come out completely unscathed. He was no longer the same man he had been before he had gone into that place, it was obvious. Unknown to her, Madame Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall had reached the same conclusion. They all knew he needed help, but didn't know the first thing in how to help him.

"Winky! Poppy! Kippy!" the panicked voices of the two house elves upstairs sounded loudly through the house.

The eyes of everyone in the sitting room widened with panic. Had something happened to Hermione? Apparently the 'boys' had also heard the commotion because they had gotten to Hermione's room before even Sirius could get there as Padfoot.

"Mummy! No!" Hermione sobbed, her hair on fire. "Bad! Hurt Mummy! Me hurt you!" she screamed, the fire of her hair lashing out around her form. "No! Let me go! No! Please, I don't want to Mr. Riddle. I don't want to," she choked, the flames flickering on and off. "I'm not weak... not weak... can't be weak... strong... have to be strong..." Hermione muttered, almost as if talking to herself. "GET AWAY! STOP!" Hermione yelled, the fire that had been fading away returning with a vengeance. It would have burnt everyone that had gathered at her door if the elves had not raised a shield at the last minute.

"No Dad, please don't... please... I wasn't going anywhere, I swear... please," Hermione cried in a small voice, her fire fading away.

Everyone watched forlornly as she huddled into a little ball brokenly as she whispered, "why? Why can't I stop being a freak? Shut up... please... leave me alone... I just want t-to disappear... just leave me alone... I'm not crazy... not a crazy freak... please no, stop talking." Her fire died away completely as her sobbing died away. With the sobs gone, only tears were left. They just stared silently, not knowing what to do for her. Harry knew what it was like, of course.

He had had nightmares about that too, but they had stopped by the summer of second year. He had friends, a family in the Weasleys, and he didn't even really have to deal with the Dursleys anymore. Besides, the potion regime that Madame Pomfrey had started him on. He still took some potions, but they were monthly now. He had found a refuge. He had found a place where he was accepted, where he found help and support. He had found someone to confide in about what he lived through in Madame Pomfrey. Everything together had chased away his night terrors.

Draco didn't know what to do, but the only thing that seemed right at the moment was to take her into his arms, and that was exactly what he did. He sank into the bed and pulled her tearful form into his arms, holding her, wishing he could keep all her demons abay.

"_Please just go, Dragon... Nobody should have seen me like this," _Hermione whispered into his mind.

"_Hermione, Mia, you can't push us away anymore. Please, let us love, support and help you. Just let us in. We want to help you," _was his amorous reply.

"_I don't... I don't want anyone to know. It doesn't matter-"_

"_Hermione, you matter. We care about you," _Draco cut in, looking deeply into her eyes, which had flickered open at some point during their mental conversation.

Everyone watched in wonder as Draco's eyes glowed blue, the exact same shade as Tom's and Marlene's. Unknown to everyone else, Draco was pushing all the happiness he felt when she had accepted him in the Cauldron less than four weeks ago. A small, grateful smile graced her lips. It was at times like these that she forgot that they hadn't known each other forever.

"_We still have to talk about that, my perfect beautiful angel princess. I need to ask your Head of House's permission to court one Hermione Rhea Potter. She, after all, deserves the whole package," _Draco whispered mischievously, hearing her errant thought. Hermione's eyes widened.

"_Really? You'd do that? So we can get to know each other again, and everything?" _she asked incredulously, hope and utter giddiness underlying her tone.

"Of course, Mia, anything for you," Draco whispered, pressing a tender kiss on her forehead.

"_Guess it's time to face everyone, huh?" _Hermione sighed, resigned.

Draco smiled at her, trying to offer a bit of support and encouragement. She looked pleadingly into his eyes, trying to postpone facing the music, but he just brushed the tears from her cheeks and sent her feelings and thoughts of comfort through their connection.

"_Fine," _Hermione thought moodily.

"Sorry about the scorch marks, Aunt Minnie," Hermione said with a bashful, dazzling smile.

"'Mione, don't joke right now... You need to talk with us. You need to let us in. It really does help," Harry said softly, a frustratedly hopeless lilt to his voice.

"I'd rathe-"

"Hermioninny, divi tsvetya, vhe vhant to know. You help us, now vhe help you," Viktor said as he walked into the room. **(A/N 'divi tsvetya' = 'wildflower' in Bulgarian, according to Google Translate)**

He too had heard the two panicky elves, but he had been too far away to make it into the house and to Hermione's room along with everybody else. He had heard everything, but had only just gotten to the doorway. Hermione opened her mouth to refute, but Remus refused to let her get out of this one.

"Princess, please... if you won't do it for you, do it for us... at least let Poppy look at you. You don't have to talk right now. We can talk tomorrow," Remus proposed.

"But I still have to talk," Hermione muttered.

"Hermione, it's either you agree to have Madame Pomfrey look at you _and _talk about everything tomorrow _or _we stay here keeping watch over you night and day, and you never go out in public ever again, at least not without a full security escort," Neville cut in.

She looked at them all incredulously, but looking at them closely, she knew that Tom, Remus, Viktor, the twins, Draco, Harry and even Fleur, Percy and Sirius looked more than willing to do just that. Actually, Tom's expression told her that if he had a say, that would be her only option, whether she cooperated or not. She closed her eyes thinking over her options. She settled for just ending everything as soon as possible. If she never had to talk about it all again, it would be too soon.

"Aunt Poppy, could you please send everyone out?" Hermione asked in a sigh. Everybody brightened. They would finally be getting somewhere.

...

With a frown, Poppy asked Hermione to put her clothes back on. She still couldn't believe her readings. Her soul was partially bound to Draco! She wouldn't have been able to tell, if it hadn't been for the erratic magic that she had sensed from Draco and her readings of Hermione's own magical core. As of now, her core was absolutely exhausted. She was lucky she had lived. It amazed her to no end that she was still sodding conscious, and that was not mentioning everything else.

The strain, abuse, and malnutrition her body had been put through was incredible, yet there were no visible marks except for the scar on her shoulder, which Hermione had said hadn't been made by anything out of the norm, and had actually been what had set her free. It was, of course, very hard for magicals to scar. It was the lone scar on her shoulder that was worrying Madame Pomfrey. The fact that Hermione only said that she would tell them all about her scar once she went downstairs, only worried her further.

Poppy had already healed bruises on her waist, neck, and arms, given her a pepper-up and a nourishment potion. She would have to start her on a very rigorous nourishing potion regime and a mandatory three-day bed rest, and that was not bound to be easy. She was as stubborn as her grandmother! She would know, they had been best friends after all.

"Alright Mia, this is how this is going to go. I will allow someone to _carry you_ downstairs. The second we finish our discussion. You are being brought back upstairs, and you are forbidden from leaving your bed for the next three days. On top of that, I will be making sure you're following your potion regime and eating enough," Madame Pomfrey said sternly.

"Yes, Madame Pomfrey," Hermione replied sweetly, "but can't you just levitate me downstairs?"

"Oh, I just thought you'd enjoy having Draco carrying you around everywhere," Madame Pomfrey said with faux ignorant innocence, before smirking slightly and continuing, "I mean, you looked _so very comfortable_, being held tightly by such a charming, fit yo-"

"Dragon! Save me! Aunt Poppy wants to kill me!" Hermione yelled, making her already flushed face even redder.

Poppy Pomfrey burst out in a fit of giggles as Draco walked into the room, looking very happy with himself. The git was actually smirking! Hermione glared at the two, before mentally demanding that Draco _carry _her downstairs since he looked so smug. The mention of what would happen to his arse if she was dropped or jostled in the process caused the smirk on his face to transfer onto hers.

In retaliation for her smugness, instead of gently placing her on a sofa and then finding another seat for himself, he slumped down onto the sofa, jostling her enough that she'd be annoyed and he'd salvage at least a bit of his pride, but not enough to make her furious and have her refuse to sit in his lap. Nonetheless, being the mature young woman that she was, Hermione stuck her tongue out at him and settled for ignoring him and focusing on Viktor.

"Zdraveĭte, Viktor! Kogato doĭde tuk? Mislekh, che pristigat utre!" Hermione said excitedly in Bulgarian, which she had started learning at the start of fourth year, when they had been told that students of Durmstrang would be arriving to Hogwarts. **('Hello, Viktor! When did you get here? I thought you were arriving tomorrow' -Bulgarian, Google Translate)**

That had actually been how Viktor and Hermione had struck up a friendship. By the end of the first week that they had been at Hogwarts, Viktor had gathered the courage to approach the pretty, quiet, studious brunette that was so immersed in books in his native tongue. He had been surprised to hear her speak fluently enough, although with a bit of a heavy accent, but they had quickly fixed that. He, however, was not as good of a student. He now had a more ample vocabulary, but he couldn't rid himself of the accent. Of course, once his little hell of a problem started manifesting itself, they had other things to worry about. Accented English just didn't seem important in comparison.

"Fleur tam kaza , che mi divi tsvetya imashe nuzhda ot men , i az sŭm tuk . Sega, az vyarvam, che nie imame neshta, za da se govori za , nali?" Viktor smiled tenderly. **(Fleur over there said that my wildflower needed me, and here I am. Now, I do believe we have things to talk about, correct?)**

"Fine, what do you all want to know?" Hermione sighed.

"Er... from the incident in your bedroom... Tywysoges, it sounds as if there are more than one thing we need to discuss, but talking with Harry, Draco and Sirius's accounts of your encounter with _Riddle_... did he- er... I mean, was this the first time that he launched this kind of attack against you?" Flitwick asked uncomfortably.

He was part goblin. There would have been blood spilt the second that this Riddle had even looked at her inappropriately. He would have loved to have been there. He would have enjoyed every second he tore into the flesh of the bastard, and relished at the sight of his miserable life fading from his eyes.

Hermione's eyes closed as she pinched her nose in frustration. That just had to be the first question they had to ask. She was still hoping they'd forget about her previous dealings with the man and instead have them fretting over what had happen today, but no such luck. Now, she was sure the Third World War was about to be unleashed. Great!

"No, it wasn't the first time... When I came back home after third year, I had filled out... and well usually, if I was in need of bigger clothes, I'd go to the second hand stores in town once _they _left for the office and get three changes that would be big enough for a year or two... but they had decided to stay home. They watched as I did all the chores, they were very watchful that day, making sure I had no food. It was funny, actually, almost as if they had been so bored without me, that they just needed to be there for my first day back and make it hell.

"Anyways, I had accidentally let something not too kind slip, it really set them off, but before they could really do anything, Mr. Riddle knocked on the door. He wanted to know if I could clean out his attic and do some yard work for him. My parents were stunned into silence, and I took the opportunity to get away. I didn't like the way he looked at me ever since I started working for him, but he hadn't done anything, so I went.

"That day, his eyes couldn't seem to wander from me. I couldn't really blame him. My clothes were so tight on me, it was embarrassing. It made me feel naked, the way he was looking at me, but I ignored him. He went inside, and I started working on his yard. Even though he was inside, I could feel his eyes on me, and I wanted to puke. I was so scared, but I needed to work. He was the one that paid me the most, and it wasn't hard work. The hardest part was having to endure the sickening way he looked at me, and I was desperate enough to overlook it.

"That day, however, I couldn't take it anymore. The second I finished outside, I went inside to tell him that I wouldn't be able to do his attic that day, but before I could walk away he had shoved me into a wall, saying that I wouldn't have to do a single thing, and before I could even react his tongue was shoved into my mouth. I screamed and scratched and kicked, but he was so much bigger than me. I think it only made it better for him. He had already ripped off my shirt, and I was losing hope, but I wasn't going down without a fight.

"When he went for my pants, I-I snapped. My magic got out of control. I almost killed him, but Dumbledore came in and did his usual clean up. He healed Riddle, repaired the house and my clothes, and wiped our memories. After that day, something in me told me to be more wary of Mr. Riddle, but, until today, he never tried to force himself on me again. There'd be the hungry looks and the invasion of personal space, but he seemed to have continued with his initial tactic, trying to ingratiate himself to me and become my salvation so that I'd feel bound to him out of gratitude," Hermione finished in a shudder.

"Hold on, you were obliviat-"

"Wait, Angel, you had already remembered what he had done to you, but you still went?" Sirius asked hoarsely.

"I-I- yes...I was stupid enough to think that he wouldn't try to and if he did that I'd be able to take him, bu-but I froze. The second he led my hand onto his thigh, I froze. It was like I was there again, and it was taking everything in me to not let it show, but then he was on me again, just like then, and I was completely at his mercy again," Hermione admitted, tears escaping her eyes, much to her frustration.

Angrily, she wiped them away, reddening her cheeks in the process. Draco held her hands before she could hurt herself anymore. He kissed her forehead tenderly, as his mind told her that it was alright to cry, that crying didn't make her weak, only human. With that she let the tears flow freely, feeling strangely better.

"Alright, Miss Hermione Rhea Potter, oh"

"Sexy One, Ol' Dumble-bore, obliviated you but-"

"-did he only obliviate that one occasion?"

"Or did he do more, and how did you remember?" the twins asked using their twin speak.

"Trust you two to get to make me smile, insult authority, know more than you should and get to the crux of the situation," Hermione laughed waterly.

"Dumbledore erased every single beating I got that was bad enough to make my already bound magic to lash out and protect me... funnily enough, though, he never actually healed the damage, so for years, I'd just wake up bleeding, sore, with a swollen face or some nasty gashes, but never knowing how the hell it had happened. But that's not how it started... that's more of the middle... My first bout of accidental magic in front of my parents was when I turned five... It was the first time that my _mother_ decided to try her hand at doing some permanent damage.

"Usually it was my father who carried out the physical part of punishments, since he enjoyed it so, but he wasn't at home, and she just started yelling at me and throwing every single pan, pot and plate in the kitchen at me. They all hit, but with each hit I could feel it building and building inside of me. The house was shaking in the wind. I could see body glowing green, and suddenly, out of nowhere, the same weeds I hadn't had the heart to tear out caught her wrists. Time seemed suspended for a second... water droplets and anything that wasn't attached to the floor was floating in the still air, but then everything slammed onto the roof, her included. I burst into flames, and warned her to never hurt me again... then, it all went away, just like that.

"The second she was on the ground again, she ordered me into my room. I didn't argue, I was so scared and confused. That was where the scar on my shoulder came from. As you can imagine, Dumbledore had been called for clean up, but once again, he didn't heal any of my injuries, and so, I was left with the scar for some strange reason. It's the only scar I ever had, and somehow it anchored the memory into my mind... It took years for me to actually recall the memory clearly, it didn't happen until the beginning of this summer actually, the same day I ran away...

"At that time, I didn't know who had erased my memory, or if there had been more than one person doing it, but that same day, my mother and father decided it would be fun to have a go at me, I wasn't taking their shit, not when I had just remembered that they had risen a hand against a five year old me. I had thought they were bad enough for having me as a starving, personal slave, but apparently they were much worse. I stopped them much like I had the first time, except it wasn't accidental. I knew it wasn't really normal magic, but it felt so right, so I just let it.

"I knew that they, whoever was erasing my memory, would be coming for me soon, so I did the only thing I could think of. I packed my things and did a runner. I had plenty of muggle money from all the years of work I had done, and plenty of wizarding money from Harry and whenever people decided to pay me for tutoring them... so I would survive, and figure this whole mess out. I went to the Cauldron, not expecting that Tom would take me in like he did. Back then, I had figured that hiding in plain sight would work best for me, since I'd likely be able to hear and see things that would eventually lead me to my obliviator, and they did...

"It had been Dumbledore, Dumbledore all along, and he had been the second person I ever just trusted blindly, the first being Aunt Minnie. She was the one that got me out of that hellhole, but he was the grandfatherly figurehead of the world that would be my refuge once I became of age.. I felt so stupid. I had been so naive, thinking that I could trust him because he was supposed to be good and leader of the light and incapable of committing any fault. I should have known really... I mean it's just like with my '_parents_." They were supposed to love and protect me, but I didn't trust them as far as I could throw them, yet I had trusted him," Hermione choked on the last bit.

Her failure to see through the old man's farce still ate at her. If only she had seen it sooner, things could have gone so much better for so many people.

"_Anyways,_" Hermione continued, getting ahold of herself, "my scar only helped me in retaining that one key memory. With my occlumency and legilimency training, the others that held the unabridged horrors of my time at the Grangers came back slowly, but all the others about who I really was only came back until that day when Molly first gave me the love potions.

"I had been so stupid then too. I knew that headquarters was Albus domain, but I had been so grateful to have avoided a confrontation with Molly that I didn't even think to check the tea she gave me or _the lone treacle tart _she had set out. I ended up taking a double dose of love potion in my tea and ate Harry's portion too... that was actually the day I went all loopy.. In the end it was Harry, Moony Remy and Sirius that broke the memory charms. Harry just reminded me so much of Mum...a-and Dad... Moony Remy hadn't changed a bit, and Sirius's eyes were just like my Dragon's. It all just brought everything back," Hermione finished in a whisper.

Everybody stared wide-eyed at the marvelous girl in front of them. She had so much going on, and not once would they have guessed it. She had had the most convincing facade. They had never even suspected she had one. McGonagall should have suspected her maltreatment, when her parents had refused to pay for Hogwarts, which she had at the time, but when she had arrived to Hogwarts, a bright smile on her face, thanking her for her education, her fears had been somewhat abated. Then when she became the most brilliant witch Hogwarts had seen since Rowena herself, she had been convinced that her worry had been for naught. They hadn't been able to do for her, what they had done for Harry. With Harry the signs had been obvious and they had done what they could. They had given him someone to talk to, potions to treat the damage done to his body. They had fought tooth and nail to get him out of there with Dumbledore. They had talked to him, and made it clear to him that if he ever wanted to, he would have a place with them, in their homes.

"Mina, d-do you relive that Halloween?" Tom asked in a haunted whisper.

"It's funny, really. I used to have it every single night since I could remember. I used to think I was crazy. Why the hell would I dream of a beautiful red-headed woman with vibrant green eyes being killed by a bright green light? Why would it hurt me so much and make me wake up feeling so angry, sad, and just so lost? Why would I dream of a little girl glowing bursting into flames and having vines suddenly form a sphere around them? Why would I hear voices telling me of how I was loved and had to stay strong and safe as I was sobbing, trying to forget about the damned dream, telling myself it would be alright?... I thought I was crazy..."

"How did you stay so strong? How did you hide it so well?" Aunt Minnie whispered shakily.

"I was my only hope of getting out of there, and I wasn't going to do that by being weak. I wasn't always strong, however. There would be nights at home when I just wondered what was wrong with me, why even my parents couldn't like me, but then Aunt Minnie, you, told me I was a witch, and I had hope, for the first time since I could remember. You let me hope that I wasn't a freak... then the voices stopped too, and I was so relieved that I was finally growing out of my weirdness.

"When I got to Hogwarts, it wasn't the fairy tale I had hoped for, but I hadn't been silly enough to believe that it would be an instant haven, where everything just magically got better. It wasn't great, but it was good enough, and besides I had years of experience keeping my emotions, thoughts, and freakishness within. It was the only thing that kept the dirty secret of my life under the wraps. I could still pretend I was normal and have people actually like me.

"Of course, that was ridiculous. I could still pretend I was normal, but never that I fit in. I quickly learned that people would never like _me. _It took me almost two months before I realized that the best I could hope for was that people would find me useful enough to _want _to keep me around. Funnily enough, the day I had had my epiphany was the same day that continues to convince me that there is nothing truer than that. From that first Halloween on, I dedicated myself to making myself useful...and they kept me. For the first time, I felt like they wanted to keep me, and it felt so good.

"It kept me going... it gave me something to live _for. _Before that, my only hope was to survive, and be free of my parents, but it gave me a purpose for actually surviving: another day where I would be called their friend and tell myself that I actually was, that I actually had someone that cared _for me_ not for what they would lose or have to do if they didn't have me," Hermione laughed self-deprecatingly, once again wiping the tears off her face bitterly.

"But I loved them. They wanted me, how could I not love them? They were the only light in my life, besides my babies. It wasn't the same, but they gave me the closest thing to them. My babies loved me, and they needed me. No, it wasn't the same, but I loved them all the same."

She her throat clench painfully. Was she really going to start making a blubbering mess of herself? Hadn't she accepted this long ago? It still didn't make it hurt any less, though, did it, she thought forlornly. Suddenly, her eyes widened as she realized that she had revealed all of that in a room full of people, people that she had indirectly mentioned. How could she have lost herself so much in her own little world? She hadn't even noticed when Draco had released her hands, or when he had gone completely tense. Great gods, could she fuck things up any more? Now, they were looking at her like that.

"It was all my fault," Harry and Draco choked out at the same time.

"It wasn't your faults... yes, Draco, you were what made me see that my hopes were those of a naive little girl... yes, Harry, you and Ron were the ones that convinced me that it was true, but the fault was mine. I was the one that felt she needed someone. I was the one that was weak enough to want acceptance so desperately that I would delude myself into thinking that.

"I should have been strong enough to go at it alone. I should have been strong enough to wait until I found someone who would accept me for who I was, who I really was, not who I wanted to be. Whether I want to admit it or not, I wanted to be the person my parents wanted because I wanted the only people that were meant to, were supposed to, love me to at least like me a little bit. It kept me from being who I was, who I should have wanted to be. It kept me deluded to that mindset that made me believe that no one could _actually_ like me."

"But we didn't help, 'Mione. We all just assumed that you'd know that we liked you. Yes, we needed you because honestly, we'd be lost without you, but we didn't do anything, say anything that would actually let you know that we loved you. The real you, the you that we could see when you let down those metal shields of yours," Neville said softly, tears running down his own cheeks. "I got to say, though, you really made it hard on a bloke to actually get the guts to tell you how much they actually liked you. Hell, a _plant_ told you before I could," Neville laughed, making her smiled.

"You are so wonderful, Hermione, so much better than any bloke could ever hope for, and that's exactly what kept everyone at bay. We were so afraid of getting shot down and losing the little hopes that would fuel our dreams. Then when you finally get the galls to take a go at it, everything goes to hell. You tell yourself that it just wasn't meant to be and that you can just be a friend," Fred started, his eyes boring into hers earnestly.

"But then you come along again, and it all goes downhill. He falls harder and takes his dashing twin along for the ride. They both fall head over heels for you, and they know that they don't have a shot in hell with the goddess that steals hearts without even knowing it, George finished, his expression just as intense as his twins.

"But how could you know if the poor blokes, whose hearts you had stolen, tried, with all their might, to hide the fact, hoping against hope that they could take it back, knowing that they would never be good enough to have hers too, but how could they take it back, when you were so utterly beautiful, brilliant, and kind unconsciously," Draco continued the thread, making her blush brightly. His voice was so warm and his eyes were so intense, they made her stomach do flip flops.

"You did not haf to try, you just vere. You had us all, all along, vithout knowing, divi tsvetya," Viktor finished, his voice a soft rumble, making her really sleep all of a sudden.

Before her eyes closed fully, she whispered, "idiot , ti ne mi kazvaĭ, che mozhe da napravi tova sega." **('Jerk, you didn't tell me you could do that now' -Bulgarian, Google Translate)**

Viktor smiled fondly at the brunette that now had hair that showcased her fiery temper. She had changed in more than appearance. Ever since he had come into his own inheritance, he could feel the fire in her. Now, however, there was so much more to her. He felt another pull from her. He felt the need to follow her, not in the creepy stalker way, but kind of like a warrior defending and fighting alongside his princess.

"I think it is time ve all go to bed. It's been long day for all ov us," Viktor proposed, stretching out.

"I think Krum's right. We can't really discuss anything until Hermione's in commission anyways," Harry sighed heavily.

"Quite right, Draco I do believe you remember the way to Hermione's room? Don't bother sneaking around, I know the bond will need you two to be together, so there's really no point," Madame Pomfrey said casually as she stood.

"WHAT?!" Neville, the twins, and Harry blustered. Remus and Sirius wisely kept their mouth closed, but the others weren't as wise.

"They are not sleeping together!"

"Over our dead bodies!"

"They just started dating!"

_***Bad ass whistle sound* **_Just like that the room fell silent once more. Madame Pomfrey glared at the four red-faced boys. She then turned to look directly at Draco.

"I would have appreciated it, if either of you had told me you were soul bound, but the thorough examination I did revealed it. I do believe you are in the second stage, so you are both off of magic for the next five days. She is on bed rest for the next three, so you're going to have to make sure she abides to the five day ban, understood?" she said briskly.

Draco nodded frantically before picking Hermione up. He swallowed hard under the glare of the five teenage boys in the room. Viktor, had of course, guessed that the two were mated from how he had been able to calm her in the room, but that didn't mean he was happy about their sleeping arrangements. It had only been a few months that he had been completely head over heels in love with her. He was still getting used to the whole I only see you as an older brother thing.

"Ahem.. er... just to make things clear, and because I know she'd hate to have this conversation with any of you... we aren't physically intimate... I don't plan on taking that step until we're ready to be married," Draco said uncomfortably as he shifted her in his arms.

Minerva flashed a smile, while Poppy snorted. Fleur started laughing her arse off. They knew exactly why he had phrased it that way, but from the serious looks of the males in the room, they had no idea of what was so funny. Men, honestly, so easily appeased. They probably thought that meant no sex until they were married in ten years or so. Oh their innocence was endearing really, it was. They wouldn't be having sex until they were ready to be married because they would end up married the second the deed was done. Considering how responsible they both were, and how hard headed she was, they wouldn't take the next step until after they graduated, but considering how _charming _Draco was already and the things he was bound to pick up from his dog of a father, they would be married by the end of the day of the last NEWT test.

The three women in front of the men were smiling like mad at each other and smirking at them as Draco took Hermione upstairs. To say they were scared and confused would have been the understatement of the year. All of them had gotten to the point in life that they knew that a smirk from the fairer sex did not bode well for them. It meant one of two things: they were in for a painful blow,most likely to their ego, or they were just not getting something really obvious. Women, apparently thought oblivious males were the funniest thing in the world as long as they weren't missing something that bothered them or an important date to them.

Women! Who understood them? They certainly didn't! Apparently asking them what they were all giggly about was the wrong thing to do. They had laughed in their face, called them cute, and told them that they should really know. How the hell were they supposed to know when it wasn't if they wouldn't tell them anything?! It was three bubbly, giggling witches that went upstairs and fell asleep with a bright smile on their face. The men, however, were not so lucky. Not a single one of them could figure out what was so funny. It wasn't until Percy pointed out that it had been three hours and they still hadn't gotten anywhere, that they decided to give up and hit the hay.

**A/N Alright... so no Marlene this chapter. I'm sad. I really wanted to have her in this chapter, but no such luck. The chapter is long enough as it is, but at least I can start the new chapter with a new-ish character! *HAPPINESS***

**Anyways, it was an emotionally charged chapter, and I hoped y'all liked it. Tell me what you think!**

**It's actually edited!... I skimmed the beginning, hoping it wasn't too bad, and I ended up skimming all of it, which is why it took me two days more to get this out. I was going to just put it up, but then I was like... what's two days more? **

**Anywho, I'm going to really, really try to write as much as I can during the summer and hopefully finish this story really soon. I'm not really close to the end, but it's progressing a lot faster than I had originally intended, so who knows? Anyways, I'm rambling.. I'm probably going to make chapters a bit shorter so I can update more often, but they won't be terribly short. **

**PLEASE REVIEW! **


	23. And Enter Marlene

**A/N Hello all! So I know I didn't reply to reviews for the more recent chapters, but I've been focusing more on writing the story. This doesn't mean that I don't read your reviews, or aren't grateful for them. I really, really am. They're what push me forward and keep me writing. I truly do appreciate them, and would like to thank you all for reviewing! :D**

**Hermione's POV**

I felt content, warm, and at peace, a first. I smiled at the blissful feeling. I felt so utterly light! I wondered why I felt so _good, _but I really didn't want to think at the moment. I was so comfortable.

My brow wrinkled as I felt smugness wash over me. Those were definitely not my emotions, and just like that everything that had happened the last few days hit me. Our first bonding, the potions, Gringotts, Riddle, my little heart to heart with everyone, and Viktor. He had some explaining to do, but first thing first…

"Draco Alexander Black, what the bloody, sodding _hell _are you doing here?" I yelled, my eyes snapping open.

"Bloody hell woman, did you forget-" I covered his mouth with my hand, my narrowed eyes on his.

"You don't get to say anything. Go get everyone else, and have them meet me downstairs," I ordered coolly.

"You are on bed rest. You don't get to put a single foot out of bed," Draco reminded me smugly. "You know Aunt Poppy will have your arse, if you don't follow her instructions."

"Fine then, you take me downstairs, while I yell for everyone," I instructed, still glaring at him. When he didn't move immediately, I pinched him. "Now, Draco," I hissed.

"Bloody hell, don't need to be so violent," he muttered, lifting me up. I ignored him.

"EVERYONE GET YOUR SORRY ARSES INTO THE SITTING ROOM NOW! EMERGENCY MEETING! AND I DO MEAN EVERYONE!" I screeched at the top of my lungs.

Immediately, Kreacher, Kippy, Poppy, Winky and Dobby popped into the sitting room. They conjured a very comfortable looking bed for me, and Draco moodily dropped me onto it without a thought. Gods, this was humiliating! I was completely sprawled on the bed. I tried to sit up, in the bed, to look just a bit more composed, but to no avail. Blugh! I could hear feet scrambling and even a few crashes as everyone in the house tried to get downstairs and into the sitting room.

"Dragon," I began sweetly, before the first stops down the stairs could be heard. The only inclination that showed he had heard me, was a twitch in his eyebrows. "Please, Dragon?" I said in that sweet voice that I knew no one could resist. His eyes hardened before turning to look at me. He obviously thought he could resist. I smirked inwardly, knowing I had him. I turned my pleading puppy dog eyes on him, and immediately the little resolve he had melted away.

"Damn it! Don't do that! Please! I'll do anything, just make it stop!" he pleaded dramatically, making me giggle.

"Help me sit up, and you've got yourself a deal."

I smiled victoriously as he did exactly that. I could feel his grumpiness through the bond, so as he fluffed my pillows for me, I pecked him quickly on the nose, just as the first one walked in. In a span of forty seconds everyone had already made it downstairs. I almost smiled at their tired, bleary-eyed appearance. Almost.

The sight of _all of them here_ reminded me I was very, very pissed off. Honestly, did I have to do everything around here? I saw them flinch under my hardened eyes, and immediately took a calming breath. I could control myself.

"This better be important, Oh Sexy One-"

"We're missing out on our beauty sleep!" the twins said in a faux annoyed tone.

"_And there goes my control," _I thought.

"Would you care to sodding explain why the hell you are all here?" I roared.

"Don't you reme-"

"It's not a matter of memory, Harry. It's a matter of common sense, which you all seem to lack! How the hell is this keeping things under the wraps? Half of the fucking order is here, do you seriously think that Dumbledore or someone else just popping in won't fucking notice, you-you gah! I don't think I can even come up with a word! Not to mention that darling Draco has been out of Narcissa's overprotective claws for more than a fucking day! We'll have been lucky if she hasn't noticed that he's missing yet! Let's not even get started on the fact that Harry fucking Potter is MIA!

"I would have settled all of this, but _someone_ decided to knock me out before I could cover our tracks! We have a room of four pranksters and a Slytherin and it didn't even cross your minds. How you five ever get away with anything beats me. Sneaky my arse!" I seethed.

Suddenly, I felt light-headed. Maybe I should have breathed somewhere in between everything I said. I started taking deep breaths, trying to get my bearings again. Luckily, the room quickly stopped spinning, and I took some satisfaction in the horrified faces that were looking straight at me.

"Alright, I'm calm now," I smiled cheerily. The people in the room swallowed heavily, as they shared terrified glance. "Oh, calm down, I can't hex you guys, and I don't fancy ruining the floor or smelling burnt flesh for the rest of the day, so you're safe… for now, at least," I muttered, glaring at them for a bit, before smiling again.

"'Mione?" Neville asked softly.

"I apologize for my outburst, Papa Tommy, Aunt Minnie, Aunt Poppy, and Uncle Fili. None of it was meant towards you. Now, this is how it's going to go, alright only have a month… so until August 20th before I have to claim my title as Lady Potter before the Wizengamot and the Ministry. That means that until that day, we are keeping this hidden from Dumbledore.

To do that, Fred, George, Mr. Weasley, Harry, Uncle Sirius, Moony Remy, and I have to appear to be living at headquarters. I can't go back until I'm out of bed rest, and once our magic settles and I'm out of bed rest, Fleur, Fred, George, Bill, Charlie and I have training to do. So that puts us at a trifle.

The plan is that for the next five days, Percy, you'll be impersonating me. Everyone saw me book it out of the room, looking worse for wear, so you can pretend I'm sick, in bed. If you just stay in my room reading, you should be fine. Charlie, you'll have to take some polyjuice and shoe in for your father. Kreacher, could you get the polyjuice from the very bottom of my trunk? It's under a few security charms and a notice-me-not…" I waited for all three of them to nod and Kreacher to pop out, before continuing.

"Alright, Aunt Minnie, I'm sure you can transfigure Percy into a convincible Hermione Granger. Height doesn't matter, since he should be staying in bed," once again I waited for them to nod and get started. Kreacher had already returned and given Charlie the polyjuice. I smiled in satisfaction as he too immediately set about his task, and left to make his change.

"Now, Harry, Uncle Sirius, Moony Remy you three will live in headquarters until I take my title. Once Sirius is declared free, however, you will be coming over daily after breakfast and stay until slightly after lunch. If asked where you're going, you're bonding. Fred, George, you two will be staying there for the full five days, until my magic settles, from then on, we will be using my time-turner to get over here for training." All of them nodded, not finding any flaws in the plan.

"Now, Dragon, you only have to stay, and by stay I mean have breakfast and go to bed in that hell hole, until Sirius is declared free. Once that happens, he'll go barging into Malfoy Manor, and take you away," I finished with a small smile, hoping that it would comfort him a bit.

"You were complaining about us not being sneaky enough, and then you expect him to go full Gryffindor and just go barging in?"

"Oh, no, you see he's just going to go there to tell her dear Narcissa that he got out and that Andromeda's going to be a Black again. You're going to come out of nowhere, and Sirius is going to be shocked to see you because it was suspected that Narcissa was barren. Then he's going to start mentioning how much he looks like him and then he'll ask you your birth date and your name. He'll raise an eyebrow and turn on Lucius as if he were about to congratulate him or something, and he'll hit you with a strong finite, which should remove the glamours Uncle Fili will place on you… It's a plan that I still need to fine tune with Uncle Sirius, but I'll get it down pat," I assured them.

"Okay, so that's decided. The sun just came up, so it's around seven… If we're lucky, Dumbles and no one else in the order noticed that you were gone. You guys need to go back and make sure that Molly sees the four pranksters sneaking back in.

Moony Remy and Uncle Siri, you two took your fellow pranksters out on a night in Muggle London, to a bar to share a few jokes. Harry, you will be surprised to see them, when you are woken up by Molly's screeching. You're going to ask why you weren't taken with them and they'll just say that stealing away your innocence is Tonks' job. That should prevent any questions from being asked, and she'll be so angry you'll all be forced to be out of her sight, which works for us.

"Oh, good, you two are all set. Charlie, all you have to do to act like Mr. Weasley is be in another world. Blank eyes, blank mind, occasional twitches, during breakfast, and then you go to the ministry. There I want you to have a fit. They should take you straight to Mungo's. I want you to apparate out, since we'll have Arthur already checked in. Aunt Poppy, could you go over there and make sure that it's a healer you trust that is taking care of him. That way no one should be able to mess with his healing. Now, Percy, just stay in bed and read or pretend to and you should be fine, as long as Harry runs interception and makes sure that no one goes in. You'll all do brilliantly, alright?" I said with a smile.

**-O-**

**Marlene's POV**

"You'll all do brilliantly, alright?" the feisty girl said sweetly. I could imagine she was giving them an encouraging smile, since the backs of all those in the room seemed to relax slightly.

I had arrived just as the girl, who was shielded completely from my view, began tearing into all of them, which would explain why Aunt Minnie hadn't felt the change in the wards. Not that I cared, there were so many people, and the one-sided conversation had quite a bit to feed my curiosity. However, saying I was confused would have been like saying that giants were kind of big.

The girl said Sirius, but wasn't he in Azkaban? She said Papa Tommy in that smooth, yet strong, firm, tone, but wasn't he murdered? Th-then she called someone _Dragon_. She called someone my son's nickname, wasn't he taken from this world too? Hadn't I lost everything that night? My sister, her husband, my nephew, my son and goddaughter, my father and my husband? I had to know.

"NO ONE IS MOVING AN INCH UNTIL I GET SOME ANSWERS!" I yelled out in a raspy voice, when had I started crying?

Everyone turned around at the same time. I could only see blobs of black, brown, and orange, so much _orange_. Before, I would have laughed at my silliness, but right now all it made me was angry and annoyed. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who felt the same because the mystery girl made her discontent known.

"Would you all mind moving very much? I know that voice, and I can't freaking see! And all because I can't freaking move from this stupid freaking bed!" she snapped.

And they parted like the red sea, not literally, since the red was left directly in front of me, surrounded by white. I wiped at my eyes, to clear my vision and then I saw her, them, and suddenly I felt really light. Was it just me or was the world spinning?

**-O-**

**Narrator's POV**

Before Marlene could hit the floor, Hermione got the same plants that had become a chair for her yesterday to catch her. Much to Hermione's frustration everyone else seemed frozen in place, that wasn't going to help anything. Hermione asked the plants to leave Marlene on the sofa, before turning to everyone else.

"Alright, Draco, I need you to go report to Malfoy Manor, be seen, and come here as soon as you can, okay?" she said softly, begging with her eyes.

_"Kiss for the way?" _he asked Hermione, his eyes smoldering.

She couldn't say no to that. She really couldn't. So with a roll of her eyes, she nodded. He smiled widely, before swooping in and kissing her soundly. Their kiss would have probably turned into a full on snog session if it hadn't been for Neville, Harry, Fred, George, and Viktor's indignant "hey, hey, hey!" With an extra peck to his lips, Hermione sent him off.

"Okay, you guys have to leave to headquarters. Uncle Siri, Moony Remy, please don't argue. It'll be easier if we break it to her slowly, alright? You'll have time with her, I promise, alright?" Hermione said softly, while nodding to the remaining.

The elves, without hesitation, took those that had to get back to Grimmauld Place directly into Sirius's room. Sirius was not happy about suddenly finding himself back in his old room, especially not that his wife seemed to be back, but he knew that he had a part to play, and he would play it, damn it! There was so much to gain, and he wasn't going to be the one to screw it all up.

Back at McGonagall Manor, Hermione was having a stare off with her Aunts and Uncle, and Fleur and Viktor. Hermione's temper was running shorter, and shorter, and shorter. Merlin, it wasn't like she had sodding used _magic_, and she could stand and walk perfectly fine on her own anyways!

"It wasn't magic! Besides, I wasn't just going to let her fall. What kind of a goddaughter would I be, if I let her hurt herself just because everyone else decided to freeze?"

"The obedient kind!" Pomfrey snapped.

"Oh please Aunt Poppy, I'm fine. _I _didn't do anything. I didn't use _my _magic, it was all the flowers! You can even ask Neville!"

"Don't bring me into this. We both know we don't work the same. _I _have to use _my _magic to use my elemental abilities. You don't, which is what makes this discussion so ridiculous. We can't stop you from using your abilities, but we should be able to trust that you won't do something stupid and use magic, and we can also make sure you don't break your bed rest, so this is really a useless argument," Neville concluded, his eyes narrowed at everyone in the room.

"Why I would never!" Hermione replied in a faux scandalized tone.

Everyone cracked a smile at the sight of such childlike mischief in her eyes. If Harry and Draco had been in the room, they would have shivered at the sight, remembering how terrifying she and Skeeter had been the day before.

"Ov course, you vouldn't, Hermi-ninny," Viktor scoffed. "But vetter safe than sorry. Ve vill not be keeping an eye on you, ve vill be keeping both," Viktor finished with narrowed eyes.

He knew how stubborn his wildflower could be. Yes, she was undeniably strong, but she needed rest. She was so skinny, and she looked so frail. Her skin was too pale and her face looked drawn. She was still very much beautiful, and that was usually why it was so easy to overlook her physical state. You couldn't ever really tell if she was sick or tired because the second she looked in your direction or smiled at you, all thoughts left you.

"Aw but Viktor," she pouted before breaking out in a fit of giggles.

Neville and Viktor smiled fondly at her smiling face. They had never seen her so… _free_. It made their heart thrum at the beautiful sight, but she wasn't going to have it her way this time… but maybe they could let her out of bed? Neville could take her out to the gardens, and Viktor could fly her to the lake he saw not too far from the manor? And she had them under her spell again, damn! They were weak, sue them! At least they'd get to see her smile, and steal some time with her. Totally worth it…

"Get yourself together Marlene. Maybe it was a dream. You're probably going to wake up in the flat, and everything is going to be the same. You haven't gone completely off your rocker, of course not. You're not that crazy! I'm not breathing. Oh God, I'm not breathing. Oh right, I have to do the breathing… okay air in, air out. Relax, just breathe. You got this," Marlene said hysterically to herself, not yet opening her eyes.

"Oh I don't know, talking to yourself is one of the first signs of insanity. Hearing voices is the second, but don't worry, as long as you can tell you aren't all right in the head, you're not _completely insane_," Hermione cut in, her voice innocent with an absolutely endearing amount of mischief tinting her tone.

Marlene's eyes snapped open. She sat up and swiveled to look at the girl who had just talked to her. Her frantic bright blue eyes connected with Hermione's amused, calm vibrant myriad hazel. Marlene's eyes widened as she took in the sight of the girl before her.

"Merlin, you're like the spawn of Lily and Dorea!"

"I not really partial for the word spawn. It hits a bit too close to home. You might blow my cover," Hermione replied in a faux whisper.

Marlene smiled brightly for the first time since her life had taken that horrible turn. She stood up and went to the familiar girl's bedside.

"So, what's wrong with you kid?"

"Besides being subjected to the torture of bedrest? Nothing really. Just lounging about, having everyone catering to my every whim. A girl's dream really," Hermione said with fake cheerfulness.

Marlene actually cracked a laugh. She really liked this girl. Sarcastic, strong, apparently independent, and charismatic.

Hermione smiled at her godmother. It was nice to see her smiling. Her drawn face and rather skinny frame showed that she had troubles getting herself to eat. The automatic frown her face had been pulled into as she was unconscious showed that she still suffered from the loss she was led to believe in all those years ago. Now that she was laughing and smiling, she looked her age and almost a shadow of her past vibrant self.

"So are you Amelia's? You must be what thirteen? She must have finally found someone and didn't tell us, and had you a-after…" she broke off miserably.

"You know, Amy'd hex you if she heard you. You make it sound like she had no game! And I'll have you know that this spawn is almost sixteen, thank you very much!" Hermione sniffed indignantly.

"Well, it's not my fault you're so small! And besides, it's not that Amy doesn't have any game, she just scares guys off!" Marlene defended childishly.

"Not her fault there aren't guys with the galls to dare to date her! And I prefer the word petit! It's much less demeaning."

"Fine, I give. So who's spawn are you, then?" she asked with a small smile on her face.

"I'll give you a piece of advice and a hint. You should probably sit down, and you're first guess was half right," Hermione replied smoothly.

Marlene just slumped into a chair that Flitwick had conjured for her. Hermione thought she was taking it pretty well, if she said so herself. So far Marlene's face was only slightly pale, and her eyes wide with shock, but other than that she was good as normal.

"Y-you're but he said you were all dead," Marlene finally breathed brokenly, bending into herself, her eyes watery, her breathing accelerating.

"Aunt Marls, look at me," Hermione asked her softly.

Hermione's eyes locked with her godmother's. Marlene found herself unconsciously coming down from the hysteria she had nearly suffocated in. Hermione smiled softly, once her godmother had gotten ahold of herself.

"Was it Pettigrew who told you, Aunt Marls?" Hermione asked softly.

"Yes, he was our friend… why would he lie?" she asked brokenly.

"You don't even know the start of it," Hermione muttered to herself.

"What? W-wait! You were supposed to go to u- me… but I wasn't here. Who did you go to?" Marlene suddenly asked.

Really, that was her first real question. She faints after seeing her dad, husband, and a mini-him, and her question is who her goddaughter went to, Hermione thought incredulously. It was no wonder she and Sirius were so perfect for each other. They were two brands of weird that just went together smashingly.

"Well, would you look at the time?! Fleur, Neville, Viktor, I think I want some sun. I think we can leave the grown-ups to their adult talk. Now, who's going to levitate me?" Hermione said brilliantly, leaving Marlene and the other adults blinking as the young adults booked it out of there. Viktor nearly full out sprinting from the room with Hermione in his arms.

They sooo weren't going to be there for what would have to be a highly emotional, tearful conversation that they really didn't need to be a part of. Besides, the adults could decide how much they wanted to tell Marlene and how soon. Also, this was probably a conversation she'd want to have with people she actually knew well, not an almost sixteen year old that she could only remember being a toddler.

-O-

Draco's POV

_"Dragon?" _I heard Hermione's voice through our connection.

"Yeah?" I asked, while trying to look as if I was actually paying attention to the conversation that was taking place at the table.

_"When you come, can you just get Poppy to bring you to me? The adults are having a discussion, and it'd probably be better if she sees you once their done talking…" _

I smiled at the thought of being over there. I only had an hour to go. Breakfast was almost over, and then I'd have to be seen for a while, just roaming around the house. Then, I'd be able to "hide in my room" until dinner time, when I'd have to join them to eat.

_"Sounds good. I definitely don't want to be there during that…" _I replied with a shudder. That conversation was bound to be ugly._ "Mia, how is she? I don't really remember much from back then..." _I ventured cautiously.

I wanted to know more about the mother I never had, but I was scared too. What if she didn't like me? Or if we just didn't get along? Or what if she didn't like my Mia? She may be my mother, but I didn't really know her, so it wasn't like I would take her being rude to Mia under any circumstances.

_"Oh Dragon, you don't have to worry about any of that… She'll be so happy to finally see you again, although she think you're a bit of a cradle robber. Can you believe she thought I was thirteen?" _she replied, amusement coloring her tone.

_"Well, you do look a lot smaller now, Mia," _I reasoned with her.

_"Whatever," _she scoffed. _"Do you want to see her?" _she asked me excitedly.

I didn't even have time to reply before she pushed her memory of every single observation she had made of her and her conversation/banter she had had with my mum. I, like Hermione, was a bit worried about the obvious wear on her face, but smiled at the sight of Hermione making her smile so easily. All would be well in time. It wouldn't be immediate, but things were definitely starting to look up.

**A/N It's shorter than I've been doing, but I think this is a good place to stop, and get started on another chapter! **

**Anyways, it's not really edited… I'm hoping it's not too bad, and I apologize for any and all spelling/grammar errors. I'll come back to fix it up…eventually. **

**Anywho, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PlEaSe REVIEW! **

**please. **


	24. On Bed Rest, Oh the Drama!

**A/N I'm soooo sorry for the wait, but the whole chapter got erased and I had to rewrite it. I almost cried. I had just finished it and was revising it and the next day, just when I was going to finish revising the last page and post it. It's an empty, blank document..**

**I'm so sorry, again. I'm going to make sure I have updated backups on google drive from now on, so it doesn't happen again. *Sighs* sometimes I really hate technology…**

**Anyways, this chapter is kind of filler, and I had a bit of trouble writing it, so yeah. The next one should be a lot more interesting. Anyways, I hope y'all like it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. It was all JK Rowling. **

**Marlene's POV**

"Okay, so let me get this straight because I feel like I'm missing something. Peter was a rat, in more ways than the one we all knew about. Sirius isn't a murderer, and my Dad, son, goddaughter and nephew are all alive. You all want to bring Dumbledore down, who was the one who got Peter to tell me that I had lost my family, who was also the one that gave _my Draco_ to the Malfoys, and who was also the one that let Sirius nearly rot in Azkaban for nearly a decade?" I counted off on my fingers.

Minnie, Poppy, Filius and even my dad just smiled at me and nodded. I narrowed my eyes at them. Did they seriously think I was that stupid? Sure, I was blond. I had my moments, but I was not that thick. They were leaving something out, and they were going to tell me what they were trying to keep from me.

"Alright, let's get one thing straight. I am not that thick. Obviously, from the little conversation I heard this morning there's a lot more to this than I'm being told, and I want to know. Now," I growled, "let's start this whole thing over, and you can tell me everything that you know has happened since I've been gone."

"You aren't going to like it, Marls," my dad sighed heavily.

"You make it sound as if I liked what I've heard so far," I grumbled bitterly.

"Well, what you've heard is just a tip off the ice berg," Minnie growled.

And so, they recounted the whole tale. This time without any holes, and I couldn't believe my ears. My goddaughter, she was the one that was leading them all against Dumbledore and Voldemort. She was the one that had jump started the process to free Sirius. She was a "master mind, who was brilliant but scary." Somehow I doubted that. How could they trust one tiny, wimpy looking little girl to be in charge of everything?

Draco, my beloved son, had grown up with the Malfoys; he had gone through another kind of hell too, but apparently he had not been brainwashed by pureblood shit, and had to have a load of compulsion charms placed on him. Sirius was still not psychologically recovered from his stay and Azkaban, and it was affecting his behavior.

Apparently, Harry, my pseudo nephew, had grown up with Petunia, so that could only mean one thing: mistreatment. I asked them about it, and they said he was mostly recovered due to the help he got at Hogwarts. He had faced Voldemort a few times at Hogwarts, and my goddaughter was always at his side, even without knowing they were siblings. That was the one thing I could believe. Potters were compelled to aid one another, no matter the dangers. Other than that, I didn't believe a single word. She was going to be the downfall of my family, or at least their blind, undeserving trust in her would.

All in all, I was out for blood, and I needed to have a talk with my goddaughter. I was sure she was smart and all, but I seriously doubted she was good enough to cause the downfalls of both Dumbledore and Voldemort. She would sooner cause the downfall of my family than theirs. I mean she seemed to be a suave, charismatic girl, like Potters were programmed to be, but no one could be that good and bad ass. The way they talked about her, made her out to be some kind of god! Well, considering the tender looks they got when they talked about her, an angel with a broken wing was probably a more fitting description, but still. She would not be the one to destroy or take away what I had just gotten back.

It had been a few hours since we adults had had our discussion, and the teenagers had yet to return, so that made it easy enough to get some talking time with my goddaughter. I'd just tell the other ones to go in for lunch. Easy and simple. Or not. I froze in my tracks at the sight of another person out with them.

Merlin, he looked just like Sirius. Well, he had my skin color, and his hair had more of a wave than a curl to it. Godric, he was my little Dragon. I smiled remembering how giddy Sirius had been when we had chosen the name. Sirius had asked me how the name could be any better. He was named after the celestial bodies in the sky, as per the Black family tradition, was Latin for dragon, and his last name was Black. He was practically named Black Dragon. The kid couldn't ask for a more bad ass name, Sirius had said with wide grin.

I took a deep breath, re-centering myself on the present. I watched as my son, the two males, and the blond ran around passing a quaffle between them, meanwhile the girl, _Hermione_, watched with a soft smile. Well, the rest were sufficiently distracted. I could talk with her, while the others played, and then I'd be able to spend some time with my son. Yes, that sounded very good.

"Having fun?" I asked, alerting her to my presence.

"They're fun to watch," she shrugged, before turning to look at me.

Her vibrant hazel eyes turned to mine and held them for a few silent seconds. Her gaze was so calm and empty, it was more than a little freaky. There was nothing there that I could read.

"I imagine you have a lot of questions," she finally said, her eyes turning back to the laughing, smiling teens.

"Yes, the others make you out to be some sort of goddess, and frankly I don't really see it," I said bluntly.

I cringed slightly at how bad it had sounded, but, whatever, it wasn't like I was the most subtle person in the world. I'd probably have botched it up soon enough anyways, so there was no point in backtracking. It wasn't like it would get any bet

"Frankly, I don't either," she admitted softly, looking at me with a soft, amicable smile on her face.

My eyes narrowed at her. She was making a joke about this?! This was not something I was going to bond with her over. Oh, let's have a good laugh while I end up being the death of everyone you ever cared about. We can all just lounge around and pretend everything's fine as I destroy your life one person at a time, sure why not? I didn't think so, didn't think so!

"…infallible or infinitely powerful….propose possible plans of action," I heard her calm voice continue.

Apparently I had zoned out, but I heard enough. She made the plans. Pfft, please! She was an arrogant little chit, nothing more. The calm and security with which she spoke was really beginning to peeve me off.

Did she not see how huge this whole issue was? Was she really naïve enough to think that she had everything under control? How was everybody else blinded by her confidence? Arrogance was the more suiting term! They were supposed to knock some sense into her, not encourage her delusions!

Besides, they didn't seem to know what her plans were at all! They had no idea what she was planning to do, how she was going to go about things. How could she sit there and tell me that she made the plans? She probably didn't have plans, or if she did, she was probably going solo, risking my family even further.

"Oh, do you now? That's interesting, because none of them seem to know anything about your so called plans, so tell me, really, what makes you think you have what it takes?" I asked, I'll admit, a _tad_ on the rude side, but she was really making me lose my patience. She was lucky I didn't hex her within an inch of her life, like I was ever so tempted to do.

"I wouldn't call it interesting, more like _expected_. It was just yesterday that I reacquainted myself with them on a more _familiar _level, and as I'm sure you were able to tell from the _discussion_ you overheard this morning, we haven't had a chance to actually sit down and talk. So I think that it makes sense that th-"

"Don't think you can logic your way out of an answer, girl! Answer me!" I snarled, snapping at her logical tone and explanation.

How _dare_ she be so calm and composed? We were at war! My family was fighting it on two sides! The possibilities of everyone escaping unscathed were practically non-existent, and here she was relaxing in the sun watching her friends or whatever playing with a quaffle! How could she not care? I ought to-

**-O-**

**Narrator's POV**

Hermione's eyes widened at her godmother/future mother-in-law's aggressiveness. She certainly hadn't meant to insult her, yet she had. Now, she had to deal with a shocked, protective, overall pissed off Marlene that looked like she wanted to tear her head off, and an indignant, protective, incensed Draco that wanted to tear his mother a new one. She couldn't let Draco upset her even more. Not to mention that it would make things a lot more difficult once they started trying to get to know each other better.

_"__Mia, you can't forbid me to _talk _to her," _Draco argued through their connection.

_"__You're right, and I'm not. You can _talk_ to her once you've cooled down. I won't let you _argue_ with her, Dragon, so just leave it," _Hermione replied calmly, whilst counting to ten, trying to calm herself and not let her frustration show.

She felt Draco's indignation at having felt her frustration towards his stupid stubbornness. Hermione smiled slightly when she felt Draco grudgingly give in, and turn back to the game he and the others had been playing. That was one less person she'd have to worry about possibly insulting. Now, she'd just have to find a way to calm and reassure her godmother. She knew her godmother didn't really mean all this spitefulness, but it still hit a nerve. She would just have to hope with all her might that she didn't botch it up and make a wrong move.

"I'm sorry if my answer rubbed off the wro-,"

"Oh cut the crap, girl!" she hissed venomously, grabbing painfully onto her arm.

Hermione winced, slamming down her occlumency shields. She struggled to keep herself impassive. She got a sudden flash of the Granger patriarch. She shook it off, before letting herself sink into the irritation that would be expected of her, not the panic or fear she had felt.

"Maybe I'd cut the crap, if you stopped giving me so much shit," Hermione growled softly enough so that Marlene wouldn't hear her, but loud enough to earn snorts from Viktor and Fleur, indicating that their keen sense of hearing had picked it up, good.

Luckily, they had their backs turned, so they didn't see that Marlene had actually dared to touch Hermione. She was sure that would have made things hit the fan, and it would be really, _really _hard to go anywhere from there. It would have all gone to the dumps. Hermione took a deep breath to calm herself further, as she extricated her arm from Marlene's grasp. This was definitely not how she had expected this conversation to go.

"Alright then, _Marlene,_ you asked me what made me think that I had what it takes. Well, I don't. I, alone, do not have what it takes."

As she spoke, Hermione was mentally asking the earth and grasses underneath her to form a kline underneath her. Marlene was so busy fuming at the "insolent, petulant child" that she failed to notice as it formed quickly underneath said child. Hermione, paid her growing anger no mind as she continued speaking.

"I know it's not what you wanted to hear, but, honestly, I don't care. The fact that you are still in shock and are expressing that through rather violent, aggressive _protectiveness_ does not justify your… I'd say crass, childish, petty behavior, but I'll settle for rudeness. I hope that we can get to acquaint ourselves better later, when this blows over," Hermione finished in an overly saccharine tone, prompting the kline to take her into the Manor as quickly as its earthy legs could.

As Hermione swiftly made her exit Viktor and Fleur looked on proudly. She had handled that very well, much better than they had thought she would. She had effectively kept her temper and defended herself, while not saying anything that could really keep her from forming a healthy relationship with her mate's mother. Draco was just relieved that it had ended when it had. Despite his agreement to not argue with his mother, he was not just going to let her be mean to his Mia. Mother or not, nobody was going to demean his Mia, especially not with him around.

Neville, was oblivious to the discussion, but had turned to look at what the others were staring at. His mouth popped open at the sight of the mobile, walking kline. He really needed to start training with his element. He grinned at the sight. If he could have just a tenth of the control Hermione had, the possibilities would be endless!

Once inside, Hermione bypassed her aunts and grandfather, ignoring their calls, as she got the kline to take her upstairs to her room. The kline moved itself to the side of her bed and raised itself so that she could roll onto her bed without issue.

Hermione groaned as her emotions ran amuck behind the wall she had erected to keep Draco out of her mind. Much to Hermione's frustration, she was angry and hurt, and Draco couldn't find out, or any chances of getting the McKinnon-Black family to be together and happy would go right out the window. Yet, for some reason unknown to her, apparently Marlene knew just what to do rile her up, tear her down, and cause her eyes to excrete excessive saline liquid.

Merlin, Hermione sniffled, she must be getting too soft in her old age. Hermione put an arm over her face, as she tried to stop bloody crying. This was getting just a bit too ridiculous, in her opinion. It had been nothing she hadn't already gone through. Hell, this was like a sweet caress in comparison! What was wrong with her?

It had not been thirty seconds since Hermione had made her way upstairs, that an enraged Marlene followed, raving about stupid, ego-centric, snobbish little girls thinking they were all mighty and powerful. No one had any doubts about who, exactly, 'they' was.

Draco, having heard enough, decided that it was better to go back to the Manor, especially since Viktor made it quite obvious that he was not going to let him get within a ten foot radius of his _dear mother. _ No matter, he wouldn't want to make Mia angry or disappointed. He took half a turn, and went outside to call for Poppy. As soon as Draco was gone, Viktor joined everybody else in Hermione's defense against Marlene's tirade. Nobody noticed when Tom escaped to Hermione's room a full minute after listening to his daughters ridiculous raging.

He had worried about his impulsive, hot-headed daughter's reaction, which was one of the reasons why they had all been reluctant to disclose everything in one blow, but from the way that she had reacted to not being given all the details, they knew that she'd probably just ambush Hermione, in hopes of getting answers. It turned out that she had done it all the same.

Tom sighed heavily. His Mina just couldn't seem to catch a break from her insensitive family. Sirius, although not completely his fault, behaved rather crassly towards her, and now Marlene seemed to have joined the club, and that was not mentioning how _forgetful_ and insensible her brother and the others could be. All of this hurt her, and now, that she had opened up, she was bound to be vulnerable and would need someone there with her so that she wouldn't close herself off again. When he walked into her bedroom and saw the wilting flowers around her immobile form, his heart plummeted to the bottom of his stomach.

He had known that she would be hurt, but he had hoped that she would go to one of them for comfort. Instead she had come up here to be alone. The good sign was that she was crying, not that he wanted to see her cry, but at least it meant that she wasn't trying to be that strong unfeeling person that she had felt she needed to be. The true question was: what had Marlene done? She had to have done something terrible or something that reminded his Mina of darker times to make her cry like this.

Tom sat on her bed, and, without a word, he pulled her into his arms as she cried with stifled sobs. Eventually, she ended up completely cradled in his arms, his robes fisted in her small hands as she let it all out. Tom breathed a sigh of relief as he felt her irregular stifled sobs come out more naturally, until, finally, they slowed and eventually ceased completely.

Now, thirty minutes later, he was happy to see that she had fallen asleep, holding him tightly in her petite closed fists. He allowed himself to reminiscence about all the others times that she had fallen asleep in his arms in a similar position. He really missed those days, when he could just hold her and keep all the monsters and hurt away.

"She was crying?" Marlene ask-whispered in an unbelieving tone.

Tom hadn't even realized when she had walked in. His surprise quickly faded away, when he remembered why Mina had been crying. His eyes narrowed at his daughter. After everything they had explained about Hermione not knowing who she was until a month ago, he would have thought that she would have been cautious around her. She knew nothing about Hermione's life. She didn't even know the girl, yet she went out there with the sole intention of either hurting or humiliating her.

"What did you expect Marls?" Tom asked frustrated.

"I didn't think I had grabbed her so hard," she murmured softly, but Tom heard.

"You did what?" Tom growled.

Tom had to take several, _several_ calming breaths. He couldn't believe it! His own daughter! Dear Merlin, what was he supposed to do?

"As if she didn't tell you," Marlene sneered.

Tom's nostrils flared as he tried to control the notorious McKinnon rage. If only she weren't his daughter…

"Marlene, it wasn't until yesterday, yesterday, that she told us everything about her life. Before then, we didn't know half of what she went through. YOU didn't know a single thing about her life before she started living with me in the Cauldron and then left to Sirius's place. YOU had no right to bully anyone, especially not a girl whose background you had no inkling of!"

"As if she's gone through anythin-"

"Shuttit, Lassy, afore Ah pu' a tongue lockin' curse on ye! Yah know nothin'! It wa'nt our story to tell. Still aint, but I'll tell yah some, an' see if tha' teaches ya' tah show some consideration to the poor lass!" Tom snarled, rage burning in his eyes as they pierced into Marlene's shocked ones. He took a deep breath before continuing in a much calmer, more somber tone.

"When she was at the Cauldron, we had no idea she had been mistreated so bad. I som'times caught some o' the hints we saw in Lily, bu' it wasn't 'til Sirius had to carry 'er and felt all 'er bones and how unhealthily light she was, that she was practically forced to tell us she was starved, and even then it wasn't 'til Harry and Sirius started berating her about how she was starving herself, that she exploded and told us that we had no right to accuse her of trying to off herself. She couldn'a have fed herself enough even if she tried. They beat her Marls, then Dumbledore would obliviate her, cause everytime her magic would stop 'em before they killed 'er. O' course the sod wouldn' heal her. E'ry time she'da wake up hurt an' not knowin' wha' was hapnin to 'er. She jus' knew she 'ad to get out…

"Do ya really think that she'da told anyone that you grabbed 'er with force? The lass i' used to getting beat to a pulp, being obliviated, and waking up bleeding, hurting, and bruised. Do you really think that she'da told anyone about you, when she wouldn' wanna tell anyone 'bout that? Yahm don't hold a candle to that," Tom laughed bitterly.

Marlene swallowed hard. In her frustration and anger, she had lost hold of herself. She had felt slightly bad before, but, now, with her father sitting there with the girl cradled in his protective embrace, telling her all of this, she felt so, so guilty. Actually guilt didn't even begin to describe how shitty she felt right now.

"Would you have done this to Lily when she had just come to us, Marlene? Would you have gone out of your way to seek her out and tell her how weak she was? Especially after knowing that that was exactly what her bitch of a mother would tell her? After knowing that she was called a useless freak? Would you have gone up to her, and called her useless, weak, powerless?" Tom asked, his voice choked, but the growl in his tone still evident.

"No," Marlene whimpered.

"Why did you have to do that to _her daughter,_ Marls? Sure, yah didn' know if she wa' treated bad, if she wa' called useless, but yah were never tol' otherwise. Yah know exactly what abuse and bulyin' does to a person... Wha' happened to yah, Marls? After Lily, I never would'a thought tha' you'da done that to someon'," Tom sighed, sadness and disappointment the only things evident in his bright blue eyes.

"I didn't mean to, Dad. I was just so angry. How could a girl so small and insignificant think that she could take care of _my family_? How could she ever hope to get the job done while keeping you all safe? How dare she think that she was good enough?

Oh gods, I was so blinded by the betrayal I had just discovered, and I was so angry that I had thought everything was lost. I was so mad. I couldn't stop. Hell, even now. I was just going to tell her I hoped she was happy that I got thoroughly chewed out by everyone. Dad, I really screwed up, didn't I?" Marlene cried softly.

"I don't know, Marls, but I think you're gonna have a harder time with Draco, than her. I know he wouldn'a let you insult 'er, unless she had told him to stay outa it," Tom sighed heavily.

Hermione's eyelids fluttered open, but it went unnoticed by the two. They were too immersed in their conversation to notice she had awoken. She decided to let them continue their conversation. She really needed to get the whole family together. They really needed to become properly reacquainted, if Draco was going to have a good relationship with his parents and grandfather.

"Why would he?"

"Their…er… together, more than tha' really. Minnie and Poppy were just explainin' to Filius and me… they share a soul bond… it's not complete, complete yet…but it's…initiated," Tom explained warily, unsure of how she would react.

"Merlin, I _really_ buggered up," Marlene groaned, mentally berating herself for her impulsiveness.

"No, you didn't. I understand, and don't worry about Dragon. If he isn't being reasonable, it's easy enough to talk sense into him," Hermione said softly, her voice slightly muffled by Tom's robes.

"I'm sorry… Hermione," Marlene sighed, hesitating slightly at her name.

"You can call me 'Mione or Mia or even Rina if Hermione or Rhea makes you uncomfortable…I know it must be hard to try to address me as the little girl you knew to be your goddaughter," Hermione mumbled, wincing slightly at the hesitation.

"G_irl _is off the question then?" Marlene asked teasingly.

Hermione winced before covering it with a small smile. She really didn't like being called girl… or freak. It really brought back memories that she was better off forgetting. Hermione was pretty sure that she had hidden her reaction fast enough, but Tom and Marlene had seen her flinch.

"Haha, not if we can help it," Hermione laughed, causing Tom's eyes to narrow.

Hermione looked at him in confusion, "Papa Tommy?" she asked. He just shook his head before smiling at her.

"Alright then, I get Mia and 'Mione, but why Rina?" Marlene asked curiously.

"Um… I kind of am Carina McKinnon… well was... still am?... I don't know how it's going to work once I take the Potter seat in the Wizengamot, really…" Hermione mused, her eyes blanking out as she thought about how she was going to settle the whole issue.

Hermione groaned as she thought about all of the adjustments she'd have to do to her timeline. At least being on bed rest was going to give her all the time she needed to get all her planning done. That would at least make it tolerable for an hour or two. Merlin, she was going to be so _bored_!

"Carina McKinnon?"

"Yeah, it was my first move to start gathering people's support, clearing Sirius, and causing the eventual downfall of Dumbledore and Voldemort… but can we not discuss this… I kind of still need to explain everything to everyone, and I'd rather do it in one go…" Hermione trailed off awkwardly.

Marlene just smiled softly at the… young woman in front of her. She seemed to be more than she had initially thought. Becoming someone else just so that she could partake in the Wizengamot and start maneuvering things from the background was a move that she would never have thought the girl she had first seen would have been capable of.

"Hermione, I must apologize for being so quick to judge," Marlene ventured tentatively after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence (for her at least… Tom and Hermione were quite comfortable just sitting/laying there in silence).

"Don't worry about it. It's a Gryffindor trait, and I've been around them for quite a while now," Hermione smiled.

To her knowledge, Neville was the only Gryffindor that wasn't so hot-headed, which was actually why people joked about him being a Hufflepuff, not because he appeared to not be brave.

"Sadly… Marlene here was the first McKinnon to not be sorted into Hufflepuff. With good reason, I say, she was always too hot-tempered," Tom laughed, greatly appreciating his granddaughter's, Mina's, effort to dissipate the tension between her and Marlene and make her feel comfortable, just as she had done when Marlene had woken up.

"If Dragon were to hear you, he'd probably thank Merlin that his mum had been the one to break the Hufflepuff curse, not wanting to run the risk himself," Hermione laughed brightly, sitting up on Tom's lap.

Tom gave her a warm look before pressing a loving kiss to the top of her head, and lifting her up to lay fully down on the bed. Hermione narrowed her eyes slightly at him, and he grinned.

"You're still on bed rest lass. I doubt Poppy would want to see you being hassled around," Tom chuckled, kissing her forehead this time.

"But Papa Tommy, she can't seriously expect to just lay here the whole time!" Hermione pouted.

"You'll be lucky if she doesn't extend your bed rest after this second people-carrying plant," Tom replied with a smirk, before leaving the two woman alone.

"Umm, so why are you on bed rest?" Marlene asked, trying to have an actual cordial conversation with her, now that her dad had left them alone, on purpose no doubt.

"Because Aunt Poppy insisted," Hermione shrugged.

Marlene looked at Hermione curiously. She either didn't know why exactly she was bed-ridden or she didn't want to say, which probably meant that it was pretty bad and only Poppy knew.

"And you don't know why she insisted?" Marlene asked, wanting to know.

"She thinks my body has been under too much strain for too long, and that I've been exploiting my 'already delicate magical core'. If it were up to her I have no doubt that she'd have me bed ridden for at least a month, while force feeding me cauldrons and cauldrons of nutrition potions," Hermione huffed, rolling her eyes.

"Wasn't you magic bound or something like that?" Marlene asked curiously, biting back a laugh at Hermione's annoyance. She was Dorea's granddaughter through and through.

"Yeah, my magic and blood actually. Technically, I wasn't a Potter until yesterday… at least not completely," Hermione answered, a rueful smile on her face.

"How did the tosser do that?"

"L'omnes concelamenta… it's an obscure ritual, meant to bind my magic and break my blood ties and ties with fate, but he didn't know about the connection between Draco and I… nothing could break it," Hermione said softly, a small smile playing on her lips.

"What would have happened if you and Draco weren't soul mates?" Marlene asked curiously.

Hermione's eyes widened slightly. She had never really thought about it. She would have been a completely different person if the connection between Draco and herself hadn't existed. She might have become a squib because of her age at the time of the ritual, or maybe she just wouldn't have had such volatile magic, or maybe she would have died at the hands of the Grangers by then. Her magic had been healing her, after all.

"I don't know. I could have lost my magic… or my life could have been as I thought it to would be… I probably never would have started remembering… I probably would have… either ended up living alone, forgotten by everyone…or maybe Fred, Viktor and Neville wouldn't have… maybe I would have fallen in love with one of them… or maybe I would end up tied to Riddle for the rest of my hopefully dramatically shortened life…

"I really don't know, I never saw myself falling for anyone other than Dragon, because I had already fallen for him on the train ride first year. It hadn't mattered that he was a total ass to me from the moment we stepped off the train because I had already fallen hard, but I doubt we would have met each other on the train without our connection… Then, if I my magic hadn't been volatile, trying to break through, I would have been Riddle's by my fourth year. It would have broken me completely. I probably would have just given up and let myself waste away, probably hoping that he'd get pegged for my death in the end if I died under his…care…

"Or maybe the Grangers would have liked me without magic. Maybe I could have been normal… never knowing that I wasn't theirs… feeling like I belonged all along... never knowing that I had a family out there… then again, they wouldn't have been mine anymore. I wouldn't really exist, would I? I'd just be Hermione, the girl who doesn't have a family, and never really will because she can't form blood ties… then again, ignorance is bliss… I wouldn't have known, so I'd have been happy, hopefully…" Hermione trailed off, getting more and more depressed she pondered all the futures that could have stemmed from that one what if.

"Wow," Marlene breathed, "your brain is crazy… you practically rattled off all of your possible futures in less than three minutes… I mean the topic was depressing. I shouldn't have asked that, but that shouldn't be possible!"

"Thanks, I think… can I call you Aunt Marls? Aunty Marly sounds a bit weird, since well yeah, and calling you Marlene just seems disrespectful and strange, since well I remember... erm, before, and it just doesn't seem right…" Hermione trailed off awkwardly.

"Sounds good to me, as long as I can still call you Rhea once I get back on track, yeah?" Marlene proposed warmly.

Hermione nodded yawning softly. Maybe the bed-rest wasn't too unreasonable, she mused, as she felt herself gradually growing more and more lethargic.

"You were named after my mum, you know. When Lily started visiting us, she unofficially became part of the family. I remember how she would look at my mum in awe, as if she had never expected that a mum could be like her…" Marlene trailed off, hoping to get Hermione to talk some more, especially now that she was looking so drowsy.

After a few seconds of waiting, Hermione spoke, without really noticing she was doing so.

"That's how it is… you know the _theory_ behind good parents. You have this image, but when you actually see it or experience it… It really throws you… It leaves you feeling like your drowning… you don't know what to do with yourself…" Hermione trailed off, her mind blurring over with sleepiness.

"We lost her two years later, and we agreed that whoever had a girl first would name their daughter after her…" Marlene reminisced.

"Wish I had met her and grandma Dor…" Hermione managed to slur before completely falling asleep.

Marlene stared at Hermione as she fell into a peaceful sleep. She felt ashamed of herself. Her goddaughter had to be part angel. If she had been Lily or Dorea or anyone else for that matter, she would not have been so quick to forgive her, Marlene thought with a grimace. Somehow, Hermione had found it in herself to forgive her and talk amicably with her.

Something, well more like someone, Hermione had mentioned, had really intrigued her. Who was Riddle? Her father hadn't told her anything about a Riddle… then again, she had only just been told that the people she had believed to be her parents had beaten her and Dumbledore would obliviate her knowledge of that occurring. She had the sinking feeling that she didn't know half of what her goddaughter had gone through.

Marlene, allowed herself, for the first time since she had discovered the truth, to cry, to cry tears of relief, anger, and sadness. To her surprise, it proved to be refreshing. It sure was a lot more liberating than going all "Mama Wolf" on Hermione…Rhea?...Hermione. Marlene stayed in Hermione's room a few more minutes, relishing at the sight of the peaceful smile that had appeared on her goddaughter's face not two seconds ago, glad that despite the hell she had probably gone through, she could still smile and be kind.

**-O-**

**Draco's POV**

The second Poppy had popped me into my room, I decided to meditate. It was something I had gotten in the habit of during my Occlumency training. After a few minutes, I felt my consciousness travel over to Mia's side. It was an interesting experience to say the least. It seemed that if I was completely focused on her end, so to speak, I could not only feel what she felt and hear her thoughts… It was like I was there with her… I could see what she saw and hear what she heard.

I was so proud of my Mia. I had felt her sadness and seen when she had cuddled into Papa Tommy. I felt how she allowed herself to be comforted and just held. It was really endearing, especially when she ended up falling asleep. I had been tempted to follow into her dreamland, but she really needed to rest. Being there together and talking wouldn't allow her to just unwind, relax and recover.

I stayed on her end of the connection, waiting for her to wake up. When she finally woke up again, I was able to overhear the conversation between Papa Tommy and my mom, and, needless to say, it was a revelation of sorts. Papa Tommy was really protective of his little Mina, and apparently my mother was _actually_ feeling bad for flipping out on Mia, but she didn't really seem to, in my opinion, to have changed her opinion of my Hermione just yet.

She still didn't think she had what it took to bring down the bastards. She didn't even know her! She had no right to demean and treat my Mia like utter shit without even getting to know her. Not that she was allowed to do that even once she got to know her.

As their conversation continued, I could tell that her perspective of Mia was changing a bit. Her heart was softening towards her. Then again, no one really lasted long against my Mia. She was too kind and endearing for people not to like her. Nonetheless, her gradual change of attitude towards my Hermione would definitely make it easier for me to build some sort of relationship with her, but her initial assessment had been spot on.

She had really buggered up. No matter what Mia said, I was not going to just let things blow over. Mother dearest and I were going to have a nice discussion regarding her behavior towards Mia… maybe she'd be able to talk some sense into Dad too. I smirked slightly at the thought. They'd both bond and spend time reconnecting as they worked on not being asses to my Mia. Papa Tommy could supervise their little reflection sessions.

_"__Hey Dragon," _Hermione's gentle, musical voice greeted me, as the sun's light reached my pupils.

Aw hell, I had been so consumed by my thoughts that I had drifted over to Hermione's dream land. Whatever, it wasn't like I had anything I had to be present for. Besides, this place was rather nice. It was a very pretty park, with a small pond and rather cute-looking ducks. The sun was setting, the pond reflecting the orange-red light beautifully. Not to mention that I couldn't say no to spending time with my Mia.

"_Hi Mia, mind if I join you?"_

Hermione smiled brightly, as she shook her head. As soon as I was seated beside her, she immediately cuddled into my side. I could definitely get used to this. We spent a good while just enjoying the picturesque moment, but I knew I had to broach the elephant in the room.

_"__Mia, I know you told her you'd talk with me, but she's right you know… she really buggered up. I'm not going to fight with her, but I'm not going to just forget about it… yeah she's my mom, but I don't really know her. You have a crazy good memory, but I don't… From _my _memories, I have two things I remember about her, her perfume and laugh. _I _only have three memories from back then that are actually _mine_._

_"__One is all you, one of them has dad and Uncle James, and another has baby Harry, and that's only because you are in those other two too… You're my past, the only one I remember, present and future. You've been with me for always and forever. You can't expect me to just let them be so… inconsiderate and rude._

_"__It's not fair that they just think they're in charge or deserve explanations and special treatment. You and Papa Tommy are the ones that are on the front lines of everything we're doing right now, and he doesn't get all Neanderthal on you. He just listens and knows that you're plan is brilliant and obviously the best way to go. Even at the beginning, he listened to you._

_"__He was reasonable and logical and patient. Why the hell can't my parents be even a little bit like him? Why can't they just trust you and see how absolutely marvelous you are? Why can't they just see you? They either see a pretentious little girl that's in way over her head, or a walking problem solver, it's not fucking fair!" _I vented, blushing slightly when I realized I was yelling.

Hermione smiled sadly at me. She took my hand in hers, her finger drawing patterns on my skin. I don't know if she did it to calm me down or not, but it certainly had that effect. By the time she spoke again, I was really close to falling asleep. I didn't even think it was possible to fall asleep while already being in dream-topia!

_"__Dragon, life isn't really fair. If it were, assholes like Dumblebore and Voldysnorts wouldn't exist… you're parents are good people, but life screwed them over. It screwed all of us over, really, but it's affected them a lot. In the time that they were… away… they lost hope, Dragon, and it buggered with their minds._

_"__They've lost hold on themselves. They're feeling lost, and don't know how or when to react. They don't even realize that they're hurting others until afterwards when it gets pointed out to them or they reflect on it. They really need to talk about everything they've gone through. They aren't as resilient as they once were, especially after spending so many years in such an unhealthy emotional state. They definitely need a psychologist to help them come to terms with everything… we're going to need to see if there are any squib or parent of a muggleborn psychologists out there…" Hermione sighed._

What the hell was a psychologist? If these psychologist people helped you come to terms with things, then wouldn't we all be needing psychologists? If you ask me, the whole lot of us have a load of issues that we need to deal with.

_"__What are psychologists?" _I decided to ask, trying to make sure my assumptions were correct. Wouldn't want to embarrass myself later, would I?

_"__They're a mind healer of sorts. They help you talk about your emotions, process them and help you with your overall mental and emotional health," _Hermione replied matter-of-factly.

I nodded pensively. All of us definitely needed one. We were all a mess, but it was only my dad and mom that showed outward signs. The rest of us were going out of our ways to look strong and hold down the fort. I had a feeling that once this was well and over we were going to need a lot of… well maybe we wouldn't… I didn't really know. I just hope that once this is over we can come to terms with everything without the extra help.

_"__Dragon?"_

_"__Yeah?"_

_"__Do you think tomorrow you could help me organize everything to fit into our new time-scale? Maybe after lunch we can sneak out and go to Potter Manor? I really need start working on all of my house business…" _Hermione trailed off looking at me hopefully with her beautiful doe eyes.

How in the world was I supposed to say no to her? Besides, we wouldn't get into any trouble if we didn't get caught, and considering the little attention Hermione received on a regular basis, and if we took Neville, Krum and Fleur with us, then we could be gone for a good portion of the day.

_"__That sounds great. We can take Neville, Krum and Fleur, so we can spend a good while at your house, yeah?"_

_"__I'd like that. I'll see you tomorrow, alright? I think it's time for us to wake up," _Hermione smiled, standing up and pressing a soft kiss to my cheek before disappearing into the conscious world.

…...

**_The next day, After Breakfast._**

We had already gone over Hermione's plan about three times. She was feeling pretty confident about it, and I really couldn't think how it could possibly get any better. So far, she had decided that two days from now, she would be meeting with Amy and her entourage to see how things were going and possibly intimidating them into action again. Taking advantage of the fact that she was in the ministry, she was going to schedule an appointment with Fudge for some time next week, thus giving Skeeter time to have a revised rough draft of the article she would be printing on Harry.

Hermione wanted to have the interview in a public place with a few witnesses, but without it going completely public, which meant that the interview would be held in a private room at the Leaky Cauldron with whoever was actually there at the time, listening in and asking their own questions if they wished. The point of that was to start planting the seed of doubt against Dumbledore, but not completely bashing on him… yet. Rita's book was going to be what would tear Dumbledore to shreds, but meanwhile Hermione and Skeeter would be picking at his reputation, so that there's no real backlash.

Hermione planned on making her grand reveal to the ministry and Wizengamot on August 15th, the very last day of the one-month time limit. It would give her enough time to get people used to the idea of her, bug Dumbledore about why she was hidden all this time, all the while giving her an excuse to hold out on the coming out ball until Halloween.

In her plans for Voldemort, she planned on working with Sirius and Amelia on getting the security of Azkaban up to standards. She was also set on convincing Fudge on calling his return, training aurors in war combat, allowing the casting of lethal spells in the event that lethal spells come into play in a confrontation, and performing a full screening of ministry employees to weed out loyal death eaters. Her plan for convincing Fudge was actually really good. Mia would have no trouble getting him to do as she wanted.

Overall, her immediate plans were tight. There was very little possibilities of failure. The only part where she started worrying was on the inevitable final confrontation that was bound to happen between Voldemort and us. We were smothering his resources and ultimately forcing him to come out. She was terrified of losing us. I could see where she was coming from, but we could only hope that we would be trained well enough to come out of it all alive by the time the battle came.

**-O-**

**Marlene's POV**

I saw a flash of black barreling up the stairs. I knew it had to be my Dragon. I felt a pang of jealousy when I realized that he was practically running just to see Herm- Rhea, I reminded myself. I may have spent almost fourteen years without seeing her, thinking she was dead, but she was still Rhea, at least physically. I hadn't spent enough time around her to see if she was still the Rhea I adored, but I had to keep an open mind.

With a sigh, I decided to be the one to take initiative. If my baby wasn't going to greet me, then I would be the one to approach him. Decided, I made to go to her room, but it seemed that the blonde vela girl, Fleur, Viktor Krum and Neville were tasked with running interference. It took me a full five minutes to get rid of them.

I was about to knock on the door, when I heard Hermione's voice. It had that authoritative lilt to it again. I knew eavesdropping was wrong and all, but I couldn't make myself _not_ listen. If I knocked, the conversation/briefing would end. If I stayed here, without making a noise, I would be able to see exactly what my goddaughter was made of, and be able to form my opinion of her "brilliance" on my own.

"Alright so we already have Skeeter on our side. I'm really starting to like her, Dragon. We are going to have Dumbledore's reputation in our hands, with the sheep of Britain at our beck and call," Hermione giggled gleefully.

I couldn't possibly think of her as Rhea right now. She sounded absolutely evil. I had no doubt in my mind that if Hermione had Rita Skeeter as an ally, they could bring an end to the all-mighty Dumbledore.

"They're going to tear him to shreds," I heard my son chuckle.

"I can't wait, but first I'm going to have a nice long talk with Amy and the big people in the DMLE. I need to make sure they're shaping up. They should have Sirius's situation cleared or well on its way. Then, I'm going to schedule a meeting with Fudge. I swear he's talked to Augusta, Amy, Andy and Papa Tommy about meeting with me enough to make my head spin. That sucker will be salivating at the thought of meeting with Carina McKinnon.

"Once we meet, it shouldn't be too hard to coax him to take a more proactive stand. Especially once I tell him how wonderful he'll seem, when the people see that he was just and corrected the past administration's mistakes and granted Sirius Black a trial he was refused for fourteen years, twelve of which he was wrongfully imprisoned. Not to mention the support that he is bound to receive from Harry Potter, if he takes a more proactive stand.

"If I get an inkling that he's as anti-Dumbledore as the people behind him, he might just get the full support of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. Either way, securing Azkaban, training aurors in combat, and a full ministry screening should be well within reach… that would completely sabotage Voldemort.

"He'll be a shadow of the threat he was during the first war, and it'll keep him out of our hair for a while… At least while he tries to regroup, after that we can expect a direct attack… which means we really need to get our shit together and train. I can't lose any of you!"

I could hear the panic in her voice and decided that it was probably time for me to end my eavesdropping. I had heard enough. Hermione was actually quite the master mind. She had all the strings in her hand and she had no qualms about pulling them. It seemed that she could actually manipulate situations to achieve her goals…Why the hell wasn't she in Slytherin? She, probably, could have been the Slytherin queen!

So far, from what I had observed, she was fierce when it came to protecting what was hers. I still wasn't completely sure if she was the sweet, loving Rhea that I had known, but I knew she cared for my family, and that was all I needed. I could trust her. She would help me protect them and get rid of our enemies. I had no doubts that we would get along smashingly once we got to really know each other.

-O-

**Narrator's POV**

Hermione had already finished writing down the outlined plan, and Draco had left for the kitchen to leave said plans, in the sitting room, in hopes of keeping the adults otherwise occupied. They had thought it would be the easiest way to keep them busy and unsuspecting. They wouldn't even realize that they were gone, hopefully. Draco hurried off to find Neville and the others. They were on a tight schedule after all.

"Are you all ready to go?" Hermione asked, once all of them were back in her room.

They nodded eagerly, causing Hermione to smile at their enthusiasm. She had been quite surprised by how readily they had agreed to let her go to Potter Manor. Of course they cheekily replied that they had been equally surprised by the fact that she hadn't just gone off on her own, taking no one with her. Hermione had rolled her eyes in response, and said that she may be a bit stubborn, but she was not stupid. She knew she would have been in a boat load of trouble the second they realized she was gone.

At the enthusiastic nod of their heads, Hermione held out the portkey, for them all to grab ahold of. The instant she uttered the name of their destination, it activated. Unfortunately, as they hadn't been quite prepared for the landing, they all landed in a heap on the floor, Hermione and Fleur somehow ending up underneath the three, not small at all, males.

"Get off of us, or so help me I will turn you all into ash!" Hermione finally screeched, after hearing the three idiots wondering why the ground was so soft.

"What are you two doing down there?" Neville asked confused, rubbing his head.

Fleur and Hermione glared at him. They were going to kill them. How could they not notice, honestly? Before Hermione could burn his bits off, however, a squeaky voice caught their attention.

"Mistress Missy Mia finally returns! What you do's to Missy Mistress Mia!" she screeched. "Get off!" she said before snapping her fingers and lifting them all off of Hermione.

With another snap of her fingers, the three boys fell rather painfully onto the floor. They watched with narrow eyes as the elf helped Fleur to her feet, before trying and failing to get Hermione to stand. The four magicals narrowed their eyes at said girl. They should have known, they really should have. She hadn't really argued against the bed rest that should have been enough to tell them that she needed the bed rest more than she wanted to admit.

"I guess that bed rest really got me used to just laying around," Hermione laughed, her smile making it seem as if it were no big deal, but the frustration in her eyes proving otherwise.

"I think you just like being carried around all day Mia. You just can't resist being in my arms," Draco teased, making his way over to Hermione.

"You mean my arms," Viktor countered smugly. "I vas the von carrying her."

He was just about to pick up Hermione when she was snatched right under his nose by Neville. He narrowed his eyes at him, but Neville just smirked.

"It's my turn. You got her for a while yesterday, and Draco got her on the trip here. It's my turn," he said childishly to Viktor.

Viktor's indignant face, Draco's incredulous one, and Neville's triumphant, smiling one proved to be too much for Hermione as she burst out in a fit of giggles. The three young men in the room to smile proudly. Mission Cheer-Up-Hermione: success.

"Um… excuse me, but what's your name?" Hermione asked kindly from Neville's arms.

"Tillie, Mistress Missy Mia Miss!" chirped Tillie. "Tillie and others be very happys you has returned to Manor, Mistress!"

"I'm happy to be back… Tillie, could you lead us into my personal study and get all the elves to meet with me there?"

"Only Potters can go into study Mistress Missy Mia Miss. Tillie cans takes you into study so you cans be getting what you bes needing, while Tippy takes Missy Mia Miss's friends and brings others to library," Tillie replied happily, another elf, who had to be Tippy, appearing by her side.

"Missy Mia Miss!" Tippy greeted. "Tippy bes happy to see yous!"

"Hello Tippy," Hermione smiled, before turning back to Tillie. "Actually Tillie, could you get the parchments Gringotts should have sent two days ago from the study for me, and then call for the others?" Hermione asked, to which the tiny elf answered with an enthusiastic nod. "Thank you, and Tippy, could you give us a quick tour and then lead us all into the library so I can meet the others?"

_….. in the Potter library, one hour and a few minutes later…. _

"Tillie, Tippy, Raffy, Kiki, Rayli, Pippy, Mimmie, Nippy, Sisu, and Timmy could you please have the Manor fully stocked and ready for visitors in three days' time?" Hermione asked politely, from the rather comfortable sofa.

With wide grins, the elves nodded enthusiastically. They immediately popped away to get started with their tasks. It wasn't that the Manor was by any ways unkempt, but it was very large and was not quite yet up to the elfish standards for visitors. Hermione smiled at their enthusiasm.

"This will be our headquarters. Viktor, you should scope out the area soon, before you have to leave for quidditch. You will lead us in physical training whenever you can. I will lead the elemental training, and all the adults will lead our magical training and physical training, for when you're not here. We'll need to be well-rounded if we want to come out of this mess unscathed…" Hermione trailed off.

"I vill return tomorrow. Ve vill be ready, divi tsvetya. Do not vorry," Viktor soothed Hermione. Hermione smiled gratefully. "Now vhat is this about elemental training?" he asked.

"We will talk about it four days from now. We still need to tell all the adults and Weasleys about all of this," Hermione sighed. "For now, I think it is best we return," Hermione suggested tiredly.

Fleur nodded to Viktor, who took Hermione in his arms, as she grabbed hold of the other two boys' arms. With two pops of apparition, the group of five was back in Hermione's room in McGonagall Manor, facing three fuming witches and one enraged wizard. Hermione shrank into Viktor's arms. This was bad, very, very bad. They were not supposed to notice that they were gone.

"Where the hell have you all been?" Minerva barked.

"Hermione's on bed rest for Merlin's sake!" Poppy screeched.

"But I haven't set a single foot on the ground," Hermione cut in, in a soothing tone.

"We just got a bit of a change in scenery, Aunt Minnie, nothing dangerous," Draco added.

"Would you all care to explain what you were thinking, leaving without telling us?" Tom asked slowly, his voice giving away his anger despite his calm face.

"I was only thinking I needed something to keep myself busy for the rest of today and all of tomorrow… I was just going to go with Dragon, but I knew I had to take the others with me so that the possibilities of you all knowing we had left would be smaller," Hermione replied in an innocent, sweet voice that almost made the adults irritation disappear completely, almost.

"Mr. Krum, please put her in her bed," Poppy huffed. "And you, Mia, are lucky I didn't put you in a month long bed rest. You need to keep up with your potion regime. I'm sure you realized you're a lot weaker today, since you didn't take them before leaving this morning?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Poppy… Next time I'll leave after you give me the potions," Hermione said in a remorseful tone, a cheeky smile sneaking onto her face.

All four adults raised their eyes to the ceiling, as if praying that they didn't either die of frustration or throttle her. The four adolescents, however, found Hermione's comment hilarious and burst out laughing.

"Where did you go?" Minerva asked once the laughing had calmed, her gaze demanding an answer. Hermione averted her eyes as she mumbled her answer.

"Come again?"

"Potter Manor," Hermione repeated nervously.

"Why?" Tom asked perplexed.

"Now that I'm Head of House I need to manage my House's business. I need to review all of the investments, check in with our vassals, reaffirm alliances, and all that jazz," Hermione answered confidently, her eyes meeting with theirs defiantly, daring them to tell her otherwise.

"Are you… er… well-informed of how to go about that?"

"Of course, I've been working as a secretary of sorts for lawyers and business men since I was twelve. Just being around them would have taught me something, but they were nice enough to show me the ropes whenever they had time," Hermione replied.

"Well that explains one thing… would you care to tell us what took you so long? If you had just gone to pick up some papers, it wouldn't have taken you two hours," Minerva asked with narrowed eyebrows.

"Well, I decided that Potter Manor would become our headquarters of sorts, since we can't stay at Grimmauld and we can't stay here. I met Tillie, Tippy, Raffy, Kiki, Rayli, Pippy, Mimmie, Nippy, Sisu, and Timmy and asked them if they could have the house ready for us in three days' time," Hermione admitted.

"And why can the headquarters not be here?" Poppy asked.

"Besides the fact that you told Dumbledore that you and Aunt Minnie were here?" Hermione asked as if her Aunt Poppy were having a severe blond moment.

"Oh," was Minerva's and Poppy's embarrassed reply.

"Your potions are on the side table. You will be sleeping until tomorrow, so make sure you say goodbye to Draco, dear," Poppy said mischievously, thoroughly enjoying the deep blush that rose to Hermione's cheeks.

Minerva grinned at her friend for getting the last word. It was childish, sure, but they needed to salvage _some _of their pride. Tom and the boys were blushing just as hard as Hermione, if not more so. Marlene, like before, just stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do with herself. Once Hermione had swallowed down her blush, she glared at Minerva and Poppy, who decided to cut her some slack and leave the room, taking Tom and Marlene with them.

"Does she have to tease us so?" Hermione groaned dramatically.

"We're the only bit of gossip they have right now. Let them have their fun. Once we can use magic again, we'll honor our marauder roots and get our retribution," Draco grinned, his eyes getting a wistful faraway look that made the two girls in the room giggle.

"''Mione, you should probably take your potions now. You look about ready to pass out anyway," Nev said softly. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said with a smile as he pressed a kiss to her forehead, pushing the others into motion. He promptly made his way to the floo, and left for Longbottom Manor.

Viktor and Fleur quickly followed his example, promptly leaving Draco and Hermione alone in her room. Hermione smiled tiredly at Draco, who took a seat beside her on the bed. They sat in silence for a few minutes, not wanting to say goodnight just yet, but not really wanting to talk either. As Hermione felt herself grow more and more relaxed, inching more and more towards the land of sleep, she sat up slightly on the bed.

"Dragon?"

"Hmm?"

"You should talk to your mum…I know she's been dying to see you," Hermione sighed.

Draco's nose scrunched up slightly. He really didn't want to talk to his mum. He knew he had to talk to her eventually, however, and it did give him a legitimate reason to stay over a while longer. He felt more than a bit odd sticking around without his Mia by his side to build bridges, so to speak. He still hadn't really befriended anyone. The only one he really talked to was Tom, his grandfather. He and Neville had declared a truce, but they hadn't yet had a chance to get to know each other. He and Viktor were virtual strangers. The same went with Fleur. Not to mention that he didn't really remember his Aunts Minnie and Poppy from before Hogwarts.

"Must I?" Draco pouted, sending his reluctant acquiescence through the bond.

Hermione smiled at his adorable pout, and couldn't help but pull him down to her for a sweet kiss. Needless to say, his pout didn't last. A few kisses later and quite a few nasty potions later, Hermione lay fast asleep. Draco left the room a few moments later in search of his mother.

_….. The last day of bed rest for Hermione Granger: Afternoon….._

Hermione was amazed by everything her family held a stock in. Apparently the Potter family had not segregated their finances. Anything that looked promising in both non-magical and magical worlds had been invested in. It turned out that they were held a significant shares in Apple and Google, which had yielded more than plentiful fruits (and rights to free products, due to how early one and how much the Potter family had invested), from the non-magical world, and were major stockholders of several other smaller companies, one of which was Grunnings. They also owned a share of every major business in magical Britain and some in France, Italy, and Bulgaria.

Hermione had already started compiling a list of stocks that needed to be sold, since they were no longer reaping benefits. She had also compiled a list of fairly new businesses that she thought would prove to be quite promising. She'd also have to schedule visits to all the companies for which her family was the major stockholder and ensure that they were being well-managed and performing to the best of their abilities. That meant visits to Fortescue's Ice Cream Shop, Honeyduke's Sweet Shop, Madam Malkin's Robes for all Ocassions, Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions, Quality Quidditch Shops, and Twilfitt and Tattings before going to Hogwarts and schedule low key visits to the plethora of muggle companies sometime over the Christmas and Easter breaks, and make sure everything was running smoothly there and if not run interference either through an adult representative or through mail… or email if she could find a way to get electronics to work around magic… or to get a laptop to run on magic instead of electricity.

Not to mention she needed to confer with Lucius Malfoy since it seemed that the Potter and Malfoy families each held thirty-five percent of the Daily Prophet. She knew for a fact that she wanted to make some changes to it, but in order to do that she needed to make sure that dear old Lucius agreed. According to the records, it seemed that the Malfoy and Potter families were actually on good terms until Abraxas Malfoy and Charlus Potter. She'd have to talk to Lucius and see if they could make amends. They were major stockholders of various businesses together, so it would be in their best interests. If he was a true Slytherin, he'd soon be changing his tune. After all, it wasn't as if Tommy Boy was actually offering him something.

Hermione went back to the pile of parchments that still needed to be looked at, only to find it wasn't there anymore. Had she already gone through everything? Her eyes widened as she realized she had. She really did work fast, she thought with a smug smile. She still needed to do the "business tohd shook hostarted snickering lokern g, but two days after your incodentorganozingl wotho ur/ inspection" and talk with the goblins to arrange for the selling of the stocks she was no longer interested and buying the promising stocks.

She had already made a list of the families that were vassal to the Potter (Lovegood, Brown, Smith, Prewett, and Edgecomb), and of the families she had to renew allegiances with (Longbottom, Black, Diggory, Bones, McKinnon, Abbott, and MacMillan). What was she supposed to do now?

She couldn't go out yet. Aunt Poppy and Aunt Minnie were keeping a very close eye on her. Not that they needed to. Papa Tommy had put a monitoring charm on her that would sound the alarm the second she was out of her bed. It was definitely time to start grating on some nerves since they weren't having mercy on her poor soul.

"Oh dear god! Merlin all mighty! Help! Gah! Please, I'm dying!" Hermione cried out dramatically at the top of her lungs.

"Mia!"

"Mina!"

"'Mione!"

"'Ermione!"

"Are you alright?" Marlene finished the onslaught of panicked cries.

"No, I'm dying!" Hermione groaned dramatically, slapping the back of her hand to her forehead.

"Vhat's wrong?" Viktor asked slowly, his zmey senses not sensing anything wrong.

"I'm bored!" she whined pouting adorably.

"You can't be serious!" Marlene groaned, face-palming.

"Nope, that's your husband!" Hermione quipped. "But seriously, I'm bored! I'm done with all of my house business and I can't bloody get out of my bed because Papa Tommy decided to put a bloody alarm on me. I can't summon myself a book because my magic isn't stable. Dragon is stuck with Lucius and Narcissa visiting the Parkinson's, and Pansy sodding Parkinson is all over my Dragon. And Nev, Viktor, and Fleur have left me to fend for myself," Hermione rattled off, not once losing the dramatic tone to her voice nor the absolutely endearing puppy dog look.

They couldn't even be angry at her for having scared the magic out of them. She looked too bloody adorable. In that moment, Marlene realized that Hermione, the girl she had misjudged, was very much so Hermione Rhea Potter, the adorable, feisty, kind, highly intelligent girl she had been a godmother to. She remembered the time she and Draco had come down with a nasty cold.

Draco wouldn't stop crying and Hermione had been dramatically telling everyone of how she suffered due to loneliness and boredom nonstop. Marlene remembered being ready to just silence Draco when she decided to floo to Potter Manor and see if his godmother, Lily, would be able to calm him. Lily had been just as frustrated as her, seeing as Hermione would not stop rambling, causing Remus, Sirius, and James to think it was the cutest thing ever and just wouldn't stop cooing over her.

In the end they decided to stun the three marauders, levitate them out and place the two toddlers on Hermione's bed, hoping that Hermione would have sense enough to put Draco on the wall side, so he wouldn't fall. The first two times that she and Lily had checked on them, they were absolutely amazed. They were both siting side to side, chatting and giggling in a language only they understood, which was surprising, since Hermione could speak somewhat fluently. When they had checked in on them, they were lying together, hugging each other protectively.

Now that she thought about it, how was it that none of them had ever seen the connection between Rhea and Draco? She remembered joking with Sirius and Lily about their two children dating in the future, and teasing James and her dad about their passionate denial and overprotective rants about how any boy that showed even the slightest interest in her would find themselves on the wrong side of their wands. She had, of course, seen that they were inseparable, but she had never really realized how they seemed to need to be near each other, how they would fall ill at the same times, or how they seemed to only sleep in peace when they were sleeping together.

"What do you want then?" Minerva asked, massaging her temples.

"Well, I want to burn Pansy's repulsive pug face off, and see if that teaches her to keep her hands off of my dragon, but that would be hard to explain later. For now, I'll settle for either a book or some company or a good fly with Viktor!" Hermione chirped innocently, as if she hadn't just said she wanted to inflict harm on a certain witch, a bright smile on her lips.

Marlene smirked remembering all too well how possessive the two were of each other. It was a curse really. Blacks, in general, were classed as unstable, which was true for a lot of the Blacks, but in reality, the real issue was the zeal with which they claimed, cherished, and protected what they considered theirs. Hermione may not have been a Black by name, but she had definitely inherited her grandmother Dorea's little trait along with the Potter charm.

"You vould fly vith me?" Viktor asked surprised.

"I thought you didn't fly 'Ermione?" Fleur asked surprised.

"Er… I never learned… Our first flying lesson made it less than appealing, so I convinced Madame Hooch to accept a four foot essay on the history of flying and flying theory in addition to organizing the broom shed and writing up an inventory for everything in there. She was more than willing to oblige when I assured her I wouldn't be trying out for the house team unless she was completely assured of my flying skills," Hermione admitted.

"So every time you said you couldn't fly, you meant you seriously couldn't fly?! I thought you meant that you just hated heights or had a fear of brooms!" Neville exclaimed, unbelieving.

"Yeah… It just never seemed appealing. I was really looking forward to flying, but after your incident, Nev, I had this insane fear of even trying to learn, so I didn't. I did everything I humanly could to make sure I wouldn't have to," Hermione sighed, more than a bit ashamed of her ludicrous behavior.

"Oh Merlin!" Poppy giggled, trying to stifle her laughter.

Minerva and Marlene didn't bother and started snickering like mad. Tom shook his head at the gigglng witches. This was a serious matter! How could they be laughing? He had been keeper for Hufflepuff in his day, James had been the Gryffindor Seeker. Charlus and Dorea had been chasers for Gryffidor and Slytherin respectively. Hell, her brother and… boyfriend/betrothed(?) were both seekers! How could she have not learned how to fly?

"This is not a laughing matter!" Tom grumbled.

"Da," Viktor agreed solemnly.

Hermione was barely containing her laughter. Draco's ranting and senses of betrayal at the news left no doubt that had he been in the room physically at the time of her admission he would have looked much like Viktor and Papa Tommy: as if she had committed a crime against humanity. Oh Merlin, if the twins, Harry and Sirius had been present as well, she had no doubts she would have the third world war would have broken out, just to settle who would be teaching her how to shook hostarted snickering lokern g, but two days after your incodentorganozingl wotho fly. Or they would have decided they would all teach her, and then they would have broken out into a messy quarrel over how to go about it.

Hermione's eyes widened when Draco's very serious voice told her that he thought that everybody chipping it to teach her would have been quite wonderful. Laughing at her panic, he calmed her telling her that as wonderful as it would be, he didn't fancy starting any bloodshed or having her learning from anyone else. Hermione blushed madly and giggled girlishly as he sent her mental images of all the good times they'd have during their lessons, sneaking off for a nightly fly, picnics on the roof admiring her beauty enhanced by the setting sun.

"Lass, Mina, do you have any idea how serious this matter is?" Tom asked exasperated. "We'll have you up to speed in no ti-"

"Actually, er.. Dragon already called dibs on teaching me, and I quote, 'the wonders, art and magic that is flying,'" Hermione cut in. Her eyes got a bit of a distant look to them as she continued, "He also says that he's sorry for taking me away from all of your more than capable hands, but he's not really remorseful, if you catch his gist… add eyebrow waggle and beaming grin,' wait what? Oh I was supposed to do the… yeah sorry," Hermione trailed off, blushing even more in embarrassment.

Papa Tommy's eyes narrowed in Hermione's general direction, as if he were glaring at Draco himself. "You may be my grandson, but she's my granddaughter. Soul mates or not, I don't want any funny business, you hear me Draco Alexander Black. You will be a gentleman, understood young man?" Tom said sternly.

Poor Hermione's face was so red, it looked as if she were burning up. Nonetheless, very much the dutiful messenger, she relayed Draco's official response: "'Wouldn't dream of it, Papa Tommy. Wouldn't even think of sullying my beautiful, fiery, angel princess's honour. Insert wink and smug smirk,' Dang it! I did it again!"

They all laughed at Hermione's frustrated and embarrassed face. She really needed to work on relaying messages…

**A/N Finally! Thank the lord! It's finally up and fully edited and not erased! Victory is mine! **

**Anyways, I hope y'all like it. The next chapter will be the meeting with Amelia and the DMLE, Day 4 of 5 of the heavenly couple's 5 days without magic ;D Any who, Percy is still at Grimmauld pretending to be a sick Hermione. He will finally get back to being Percy once Hermione returns from her meeting and sends him back to his life on day 4, after her meeting. **

**Thank you sooo much for reading! Please review ^_^ **


	25. A Change of Plans

**A/N I'm back! Sorry it took so long. I had my first-year orientation last week, so it was a bit had to get time to actually sit and type. Anyways, this kind of just covers two days worth of time, but I hope y'all like the chapter nonetheless. Just a quick note... it's not proofread at all, so I apologize about any terrible grammar and incorrect spellings. It'll get proofread, eventually... I hope it's not too bad.**

**Disclaimer: I-I don't know what you're talking about… *cries out in pain* Fine! Fine! I confess! I-I don't own Harry Potter! *whimpers***

**Draco's POV**

As I went downstairs, I realized that my aunts and grandfather were truly pushing for this apparently long overdue talk. The second I made it into the sitting room, where my aunts were chatting avidly, they all quickly and not so subtly left the room with half-arsed excuses. I mean change my teeth and put on my feet, truly brilliant and well thought out excuses.

I snorted as I saw them all blush and flee as they realized what, exactly, they had said they would be doing. My mother, Marlene, just seemed confused, well, until she saw me that is. I immediately felt her conflicting emotions: her happiness for actually getting to be near me, and wariness for what she knew was to come. Great, just great, now I felt _slightly_ guilty for greeting her not even once since she had returned. Not that I had much of a chance to do that before she had done the one thing that would have buggered up the chances of all this going smoothly.

We stared at each other awkwardly for a full three minutes, not knowing how to even start. We didn't know each other, how the hell was I supposed to start?

"_When you're with someone you don't know and that doesn't know you, what are you supposed to do, Dragon?" _Hermione thought drowsily to me before I could panic any more.

"_Introduce ourselves?"_ was my uncertain reply. She mumbled her agreement before falling deeply into her subconscious again.

"I don't believe we've been introduced. I was born Draco Alexander Black, but until more recently I was known as Draco Abraxas Malfoy," I said formally, taking my mother's hand in mine and pressing her knuckles to my forehead, as the pureblood protocol called to do when treating with married pureblood women.

"M..Marlene Black… originally McKinnon," Marlene, my mother said shakily, tears gathering in her eyes. "Draco, I-I don't know if they've told you, but I'm yo-"

"Yes, they told me," I cut in, "I _know_ you're my mother." Suddenly, the perfect way to deal with the elephant in the room occurred to me. Well, it wasn't going to be pretty, but at least it was the easiest way to smoothly address what I actually wanted to talk about with her. "It's funny really. I wasn't expecting to see you for quite some time," I continued with a certain dispassion to my voice.

"What? You all knew, all along?" my mother asked softly, the rage in her voice brewing quickly. Merlin help me, why did I have to have such hot headed, irrational, arses as parents?

"No, actually. We didn't know anything… not until my Mia put the pieces together. It was she that realized what had probably happened. She had an absolutely brilliant plan to draw you back, you know. It was brilliant. She, _correctly_, guessed that you had been misled to believe that we had died and that Sirius had gone mad and become a murderer. Not that that was really enough reason for you to just up and leave. I mean why bother to check we were really dead, or Merlin forbid you attend our funeral," I said a bit bitterly, enjoying my mother's grimace a lot more that I should have. "Anyways, once she got dad cleared, she was going to blackmail Rita Skeeter into printing the story of the newly reinstated, innocent, Lord Sirius Black getting his happy after all, reconnecting with his father-in-law and long lost son.

"It was absolutely brilliant, you know… She was planning a Yule Ball as a sort of welcome back for which the Minister for Magic of France, Monsieur Delacour and his family would be cordially invited, in addition to international quidditch star, Viktor Krum. Both parties would have of course dropped hints to the media of their countries, and of course the news would have travelled far and fast, considering the influence they have. She had hoped that it would have been enough to bring you back. We weren't sure if you had a compulsion charm on you, but nonetheless, she believed that the impact of the news would have been enough to break them…." I said in a casual tone. "Of course, it doesn't matter anymore. All of our plans changed with our near deaths-"

"What?!" mother screeched.

"Oh they didn't tell you?... well, love potions can be particularly lethal to soul bound couples. The first time Hermione got poisoned by Mrs. Weasley, we were able to get together in time. Dad got me to her, and we were able to fight it off together. However, the day before the second time Molly Weasel poisoned her _again_, this time with the strongest, most thorough and complicated love potion she could create, I had kissed her, completing the first stage of our bond.

"We were _especially_ vulnerable then, the bond was new. I was with Papa Tommy, and by the time Dad had found me it was almost too late. She risked so much, waiting and holding off for me to get there. In the end, she was able to save us. I know she could have saved herself. She would have just had to have burned the potion inside of her, reached in and broken the already damaged connection, and let the potion take me, but instead, she nearly killed herself trying to save us both. The strain her efforts took actually severed our first bond beyond repair. We actually had to move the second stage up quite a bit just to stay alive…" I explained matter of factly.

"Why didn't anyone tell me? Why are you telling me?"

"No one told you because they don't _have to_ give you any explanations. You may have given birth to me and been there for the first two years of my life, but you were gone for fourteen years. _I don't know you._ Hermione_ actually remembers_ you, so she probably has a bit more of a connection with you than I do, and, even then, it's been so long the only ones that feel that connection are Poppy, Minerva and Papa Tommy. No, they didn't tell you either, for the same reasons that they didn't tell you about Mia's life before becoming a Potter again: it's not their story to tell, and you can't just waltz in and _expect_ to be told everything and be given charge of everything.

"As to why I'm telling you this… I want you to get a clear picture of what exactly Mia is to me. She's my life and soul._ Not only_ because of the bond, but because she liked me despite all the shit I did to her, because I love her more and more every day, even as I was cursed to admire her from afar and be hateful to her whenever I was near, because she forgave me and wanted me to be hers as much as I wanted her to be mine.

"I told you this so you'd understand that she'd protect us with her life and is _more than capable_ of running the show. You don't see us interfering or contradicting her plans, not because we've all been bewitched, but because we know and can see that she's got the gist of it. She knows exactly what needs to be done and how to do it, so we do." I took a deep breath before getting to the heavy part. Merlin, she was probably going to start sobbing her eyes out, she was already crying. I didn't _want _to make her cry, but she needs to hear this, and better do it now than wait until later.

"If it comes down to you and Dad or her, I will _always_ choose her. You and Dad have some way of making an impression on your future daughter-in-law. You treat her like shit because you can't see past yourself. You can't accept that another person is in charge of protecting your family. You're so jealous of the fact that everybody trusts her so implicitly, that you won't let yourself see why they do so.

"Dad treats her like shit because he can't realize that she's a person, not a walking book that needs only a second to find a suitable solution for any and every problem. He lashes out at her the second she does something he didn't deem as desirable, appropriate, or necessary. If anything gets out of hand, call on or blame Hermione, but if all is well or if anything else is going on, she doesn't exist.

"You both need to clean up your act. Dad, at least, has a bit over a year of knowing her, and has been nice to her on occasion. Once he gets his head out of his arse and grovels for forgiveness, which she will deem as unnecessary, their relationship should be as good as ever. You, however, have no accountable history with her, and the little history you have has been tainted by your fuc… by the _incident_. I recommend you get ahold of yourself and get over your petty childish behavior.

"The only reason we are actually a calm talk is because my Mia made me promise I wouldn't argue with you or ruin any chances of reconnecting as a family. Honestly, I'm glad she stopped me because, believe it or not, I _do_ want to get a chance to reconnect with my birth family, but I want my parents to be that… parents. I don't want to Papa Tommy, Aunt Minnie, or myself to have to reprimand you two for not being able to behave properly, or for just being insensitive prats. I haven't yet talked to Dad, but you both need to grow up and get over yourselves. Until then, we won't be getting any closer than a warm, friendly acquaintance," I finished seriously, looking up at my mother who had been surprisingly quiet during my entire monologue.

She was crying silently, anguish, remorse, acceptance and relief rolling off her in nauseating waves. She didn't say a word, but nodded her acceptance, giving me a silent promise that she would work hard to reach the level we all wanted.

**-O-**

_**Outside of St. Mungo's**_

**Molly's POV**

He had gone to work, and never came back. I had waited a whole day, hoping that he had just been held back or that an emergency had come up, and he hadn't been able to get word back to me, but when I decided to go to the ministry myself and check on his whereabouts they tell me he had to be taken to St. Mungo's!

Why in the blazes of hell had I not been informed? They shouldn't have taken him to Mungo's. They could find something. There was a small chance that they wouldn't, and it was only that miniscule possibility that I had going for me right now. What would happen if they found out what I had done?

This was the twelfth time I tried to visit him in the three days I knew where he was, but the damn healers weren't letting up. They wouldn't let anyone but healers in. What was I going to do? Every time I tried to sneak in, someone always caught me, no matter what I tried.

I was not going to lose my Arthur. It has taken me too much work to take him away from that slut, and it was not going to go to waste. He was mine, only mine, and no man, woman, or healer was going to take him from me.

**-O-**

**Albus's POV**

For the first time in forever, I was at an utter loss. My magic was telling me that the most exasperating and annoyingly perseverant Hermione Jean Granger, actually born Hermione Rhea Potter, had broken free from my bindings. I could feel that my magic had lost the _significant_ boost it had gotten from leaching hers. My body had only just recovered from the backlash it took for having used my physical strength to contain her, and I hadn't heard about anything strange concerning her from the order. Not even Molly had anything to report, and she would usually had something to complain and bitch about the insufferable girl.

**-O-**

_**The Ministry of Magic**_

**Narrator's POV**

"Miss Carina McKinnon, a pleasure," Kingsley Shacklebolt's deep voice greeted Hermione as she stepped into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

She smiled brightly, happy to see a different face. No matter the need for it, she had decided that she absolutely detested bedrest. It was definitely good to finally be on her own two feet, able to come and go as she pleased.

"Auror Shacklebolt, the pleasure is mine. Do you know if Director Bones and Head Scrimageur are waiting for me, perchance?" she asked pleasantly.

"Director Bones is quite excited to be meeting with you Miss McKinnon," Shacklebolt chuckled.

"And Head Scrimageur?"

"He's quite anxious as well," he replied slyly, causing Hermione to snort softly.

It seemed that she had made quite the impression on one Rufus Scrimageur. That was good, very good. It would certainly make things run a lot more smoothly. Hermione smiled sweetly.

"Then we really, shouldn't keep them wait," Hermione replied cunningly, her sweet smile turning more into a smug smirk, causing Kingsley to laugh deeply.

…_.in the DMLE meeting room…._

"Miss McKinnon, a pleasure meeting with you once more. What can we do for you?" Scrimageur asked formally, although his eyes moved from her to the door behind her shiftily, causing Hermione to laugh charmingly.

"Head Scrimageur, no need to be uneasy… unless, of course, my _suggestions_ haven't been taken seriously?"

"Oh, Mia, you can stop teasing the old man. I'm proud to say that your suggestions have been implemented and are well on their way of becoming more permanent fixtures," Director Bones laughed gaily, causing Scrimageur to blush heavily.

"Not my fault she's the perfect image of intimidation," Scrimageur muttered bitterly under his breath. Hermione, Amelia and Kingsley decided to cut the man some slack, and ignore his comment. After all, the Head of the DMLE cowering at the sight of the charming, petite Miss McKinnon was embarrassing in itself, but admitting to it was ten times worse!

"I'm glad to hear that, and I must thank you Head Scrimageur for choosing to do what is right and honor your responsibilities. Now, the reason I am hear is about the subject of our previous meeting," Hermione continued primly, her eyebrow rising, causing Scrimageur to gulp, despite not being threatened or intimidated directly this time.

"Er… of course, I'm sure you'll be happy to know that the paperwork to clear Lord Sirius Black's current situation went through this morning," Scrimageur replied quickly.

"Now, all he has to do is come in at his earliest convenience for a questioning to dispel or confirm the actions for which he was accused and never tried for," Kingsley added with a small smile.

"Minister Fudge, he said, would be more than happy to sign Lord Black's full pardon and issue him a fair compensation for the time lost… although initially, he was refusing to. Once your name was mentioned, however, he seemed to have gone through a very sudden change of heart," Amelia's amused voice added, as she sent a teasing smirk at Hermione.

"I'll be sure to thank the minister in person, then. After all, I would like to speak to him about a few things," Hermione said smiling politely as she stood, told them Lord Black would most likely make an appearance very soon, and took her leave.

…..

"The minister has Tuesday, the week after next, open after the Wizengamot meeting," Umbridge's currently temporary replacement answered politely.

"Minister Fudge will be attending?" I asked curiously. He usually opted to stay out of all the political dirty work, and that meant avoiding the battlefield, the Wizengamot meetings, as much as possible without risking his position as minister.

"Oh yes, he's determined to be there for Madame Umbridge's…er… _review, _and he also said something about offering an apology to Young Lord Potter and those in attendance during… such an embarrassing display, I think he said," the young witch replied with a bubbly smile, that faded the second she realized that she had, more likely than not, said too much.

"Don't worry, I won't be saying anything, but in case your position becomes a bit more permanent, discretion is absolutely key," Hermione advised kindly.

"Th-thank you Miss McKinnon," the girl stuttered, blushing embarrassed but relieved that she hadn't botched up terribly.

Hermione nodded politely before taking her leave. The second she stepped out of the floo and into McGonagall Manor, she allowed herself to sag in relief. Fudge had been in the middle of a meeting. She had been truly lucky. She wasn't still sure of what she would have done if he had wanted to see her right then and there. As much as she liked to think she had everything figured out, she really didn't feel like she did.

Sure she had seen through Dumbledore's manipulations and she had figured out how to undo some of the damage and get retribution, but she had only been able to do that because of her unstable magic and endless reading and studying. She was still severely lacking in the whole political and economic scenes. She was depending on what she had been able to pick up on by observing others and through books. She needed someone to guide her through the more intimate and inner workings of politics, but she wouldn't be able to ask someone to do so until she claimed her position. She sighed heavily, as she looked for her Aunt Poppy.

"Oh, you're back! Thank Merlin! How'd it go?" Poppy asked as she bustled from the sleeping Alice and Frank over to her.

"Uncle Sirius just needs to go in for questioning and his name will be cleared and given compensation for the time lost, and I have a meeting with the minister right after the Wizengamot meeting after the next," Hermione announced as she felt Poppy undoing Minerva's transfigurations and charms one by one.

"Will you be announcing your headship at that meeting?" Poppy asked distractedly as she started working on making Hermione look like Hermione Granger.

"No, not until August 25th..."

"Isn't that the last day?" Poppy sounded appalled.

"Yes. I don't have time to arrange for a coming out ball before we get bac-"

"You do know that waiting until the last minute to present yourself before the Wizengamot and ministry will come off as terribly rude, right?"

"Why would it, Aunt Poppy? I mean they give a month to do it...isn't it the same, as long as it gets done by the deadline?" Hermione asked confused.

"So if you have a month to do an essay, it would be the same if you get it done the day it's due and before the deadline?" Poppy asked with a raised eyebrow, her expression stern.

"N-no," Hermione stammered.

"Exactly, now what's this about _you _not having time to arrange for a coming out ball?"

"Well, the social norm dictates that due to the status of my family, I must have a coming out ball, thus meaning that I have to organize one," Hermione replied slowly, not at all sure if this was a serious question.

"Why do you have to arrange for it?" Poppy questioned, notably growing frustrated. Hermione, however, had already hit the frustration point.

"Why don't you just come out and say whatever you want to say instead of this guessing game?" Hermione snapped.

"Why is it only I, me, and myself with you Mia? Why does it have to be you? We looked over your plans you know, while you were out, and we don't play a part in any of it!" Poppy started off softly but ended up a strand away from yelling.

"The adults are in charge of the magical combat training, that's not nothing!" Hermione protested.

"Oh yes how could I forget? We all share one aspect of the training, while Mr. Krum gets the hand-to-hand combat and you get the elemental magics. Not to mention that _you _contact Skeeter. _You _meet with the minister. _You_ arrange for Sirius to get cleared. _You _get Tom to take his name back. _You _do _everything. _It's always you, you, you, you, YOU, and I want to know WHY?"

Hermione stared at Poppy slack-jawed. She had never seen her Aunt Poppy lose it like that. She didn't even know she had a temper. She knew everyone had a snapping point, and she felt guilty for having pushed her to it.

"I can trust me..." Hermione whispered so softly, that Poppy just heard her voice, but couldn't distinguish what she had said.

"What?"

"I can trust me. I can depend on me," Hermione repeated.

"And you let Viktor Krum lead hand-to-hand combat training even though you don't trust him?" Poppy asked accusingly.

"No. I trust Viktor. We know that we can trust each other completely and without reservation," Hermione answered softly, looking down at her shoes.

"And you don't trust us? Harry? Draco?"

"I _know_, intellectually, that I can trust Draco, but _I'm_ not there yet. He knows I care fiercely about him, but he understands that I _can't_." Hermione growled.

"I can understand you not trusting Minnie, Filius, Sirius, or myself, but what about Tom, Harry, and Remus, then?" Poppy asked testily.

She was still frustrated, but she was starting to cool off. Now, she was starting to wonder why Tom hadn't commented when they had all discussed Hermione's plans. What did he know, that the rest of them didn't? Did he somehow understand what was going on in her head?

"Moony Remy and Harry, I know, wouldn't consciously harm me, Aunt Poppy," Hermione replied calmly, flaring Poppy's temper once more.

"Why can't you just trust us!? We are your family! Potters depend on and trust in their family!" Poppy shrieked, unknowingly attracting the attention of the others in the large manor.

It took less than a second for them to be outside of the room, but the two witches inside had not noticed. They stayed outside, ready to intervene as soon as they were needed.

"Yes, a Potter's strength is in their family, but I _can't. _I'm not there alright?!" Hermione growled. "I'm not," she repeated again meekly. "As much as I'd love to say that I made it out unscathed with one measly scar, I didn't. I'm so messed up, you have no idea," Hermione laughed self-deprecatingly. "It was instilled in me, to my very core. My whole life it's been me. Just me. I _know _I can depend on myself. I learned that I can depend completely on Viktor. I am well on my way on learning that I can depend on Draco. I am learning that I can depend on Neville, Nym and the twins, isn't that bloody enough!?" Hermione snarled.

"What about Tom, then? Is he unworthy of your trust too?" Poppy snapped back impatiently.

"Papa Tommy is different," Hermione growled before Tom, who was ready to rip Poppy's head off could intervene. Hermione's eyes flashed a glowing gold, as a warning, before settling back to a tumultuous brown.

"He's been there for me since the start. He hasn't hurt me once. He provides the silent love, care and support that I need, without needing to ask. He took me in, no questions asked. He looked after me, and made sure I was well without _pushing._ Now, is that enough for her highness?" Hermione sneered, making Poppy's frustration and senseless anger dissipate instantly.

Her eyes filled with tears as she realized what she had done. What the hell was wrong with her? Everyone was at a loss of what to do, of how they were supposed to help Hermione, or how they were supposed to get her to see that she could and needed to trust them, but they weren't all snapping at her. Actually... they were. The only ones that hadn't done so were Tom and Minerva.

Minerva seemed to be able to stop before she crossed that line. Filius had caused the Gringotts scare. Sirius was the one that repeat offender. Marlene was the one that made her cry. She wasn't sure if Remus had snapped at her, but he had admitted to neglecting her. Harry was an oblivious boy with a temper. Draco had unwillingly betrayed her, but had done so nonetheless and treated her worse than dirt for years. Was it any mystery why she felt she couldn't depend on them?

"I'm sorry..." Poppy whispered brokenly, but she had already left the room with Tom and Viktor hot on her heels.

"Mina! P-Please slow down. I'm not as y-young as I used tah be," Tom panted out of breath.

"Divi tsvetya! Spiram! Az mozhe da leti, ne zabravyaite!" Viktor called as she was merely four inches from the back door. **(Wildflower! Stop! I can fly, remember?)**

Hermione stopped abruptly, knowing that if he were to fly because of her, everybody would know what he was. He hadn't told anyone yet, so that meant he wasn't ready to tell any of the others, and Hermione would not be able to forgive herself if he were forced to reveal he was a creature because of her.

"Sŭzhalyavam, mi Zmey. Ne i dokato ne ste gotovi," Hermione smiled smally, her eyes torn. **(Sorry, my Zmey. Not until you're ready.)**

"Vill be soon," Viktor grunted, pulling her away from the door and towards him.

She let herself be held for a few seconds, before pulling away. She really didn't want to talk about it. She recognized that she had not reacted as well as she could have, but, honestly, what could they have possibly expected. It almost seemed that everyone was exploding at her one by one. It wasn't like she wasn't affected by their callous words and actions.

"I have to go. Percy is probably itching to get back to work. I know he asked for a short leave. but it's been four days..."

"Mina, are yah alright, lass?" Tom asked worriedly, grabbing Hermione by the shoulders, searching her face for any indication that she wasn't well.

"I'll be back in two days, alright Papa Tommy, for the meeting," she said kindly, kissing his cheek before moving over to hug Viktor.

They both watched in silence as she called for Kreacher to take her straight to her room in Grimmauld. Not two minutes later, another Hermione with shortening hair that seemed to be in the process of turning Weasley orange appeared with Kreacher in the same spot. Quickly enough, Percy was left there in the place of the Hermione that had just appeared. With a courteous nod, Kreacher took his leave, leaving the three men looking at each other awkwardly.

"Er.. I need to find Skeeter, see you all in two days," Percy announced, booking it out of there.

"I suppose ve might as vell go upstairs and tell them that Hermi-own-ninny is vell."

"I doubt they'll be in the mood to listen. I'll eat my cloak if Poppy isn't balling her eyes out," Tom grumbled, but following Viktor upstairs nonetheless.

"I c-can't be-lieve I did that to her! I wa-was soo s-stupid. R-ravencl-claw my arse. I-I'm so sorry. I just wanted t-to help, but I j-just pushed h-her aw-way even more," Poppy sobbed loudly into a scowling Minerva's arms.

Tom could tell she was more than pissed at her best friend, but she was not about to tear into her while she was sobbing with such gusto. She was already torn up about what she had done, so she wouldn't make her feel even worse. Minerva would be working with Poppy to mend the rift she had caused, and see if they could think of something nice to do for/with Hermione. When Minerva caught sight of Tom and Filius waiting by the door, looking at the two women awkwardly, she glared at them and with that glare alone, told them to do something about the hysterical Poppy or there would be hell to pay later.

"Poppy..." Filius ventured softly, only causing the witch to let out a howl.

Tom looked up to the heavens, and wished, once again, that his Rhea or Dorea were here. They would have been able to set Poppy and Marlene straight. Dear Merlin, Tom thought, trying to think of what they would have done.

"Poppy Pomfrey, you will stop this ridiculous crying! It's not going to help anything, so get yourself together woman and fix this!" Tom exclaimed, eerily using the same tone that Dorea and Rhea used when they were knocking some sense into their friends. Much to everyone's pleasant surprise, however, Poppy immediately ceased crying.

"Thank Merlin," Filius exhaled, his ears finally catching a break.

Although their relief wasn't visible, Fleur and Viktor were most likely the most grateful that the crying had ceased. Their senses had been sent on overdrive with Madame Pomfrey's dramatics. Their ears were still ringing a bit, but Fleur had to admit that it hadn't been nearly as bad as one Molly Weasley's consistent screeching.

"Now that that's done with, would you like to tell me what the hell that was all about?" Minerva asked sternly, giving Poppy her stern teacher glare.

"I-I just asked her about how it had gone, and well... one thing..." Poppy trailed off at Minerva's hardening glare. It was her 'you're already in trouble so you might as well confess' look.

"_Fine! Godric! _I'll tell you everything, but stop giving me that look! She had told me that she had a meeting with the minister right after the next Wizengamot meeting right after tomorrow's. I asked her if she was going to announce her headship at that meeting, but she said she was going to wait until the last day, and then I told her that it was rude to do so, but then she asked if it was the same. I told her no, and asked her why she wanted to wait, and she said that _she_ didn't have time to organize her coming out ball, and I asked her why. She explained why she needed a coming out ball. I asked why again, definitely not the smartest thing I did, and she snapped. She told me to stop taking such a roundabout questioning route and to just come out with it, and well I snapped. I just wanted to know why she was trying to do everything by herself... and well it came out more accusatory than anything..." Poppy finished in a sigh.

"Oh, zhat's not gud at all. Zhat was one of zhe worst zhing to yell at 'er about," Fleur fretted. "You 'ave confronted 'Ermione about 'er lack of trust, but zhat eez zhe mos' raisonable part of 'er be'avior, considering everyzhing... We are lucky she 'asn't decided to do zhings 'erself," Fleur explained, seeing the bewildered looks that Minerva, Poppy, and Filius were giving her.

"Da," Viktor agreed. He couldn't have said it any better himself.

"She's been trying really hard to seem normal, and get to trust us, but it can't possibly be easy for her. You can't expect that a new name and look will immediately erase fourteen years of survival instinct," Tom added sagely.

"You're right dad. It took us nearly a year with Lily, and she didn't have it bad until her dad died in second year..." Marlene conceded. "But the question is, what do we do now?"

"Eetz obvious, non? We organize zhis ball for 'er so 'Ermione can prezent 'er status at zhe ministry," Fleur said matter of factly, earning excited grins from the three elder witches.

"Before doing this, ve must talk to Hermi-own-ninny about plans. You must build trust, not expect it," Viktor interjected before they could get carried away.

Immediately, the four witches deflated slightly, but nodded their agreement. They knew Viktor was right. Besides, if they waited two days to ask Hermione if she was alright with it, they would be able to get Augusta, Amelia, Andromeda and maybe even Tonks onboard with the planning. They just couldn't wait! They were so excited!

With wide smiles, the four witches bounded out of the room, talking about possible dates and themes for the ball, causing the three wizards to shake their heads. Witches were impossible to understand. Less than three minutes ago, one of them had been crying hysterically, another absolutely livid, one shell-shocked and the other impassive. Now, however, they were bundles of excitement, all smiles and giggles.

_**...Meanwhile at Grimmauld... **_

"So you're saying that all I need to do now is go to the DMLE, go through short questioning, and I'm a free man with a clear name?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"And quite a few galleons richer, I'd imagine," Hermione assented.

"You Hermione are the most brilliant witch ever!" Sirius said excitedly before morphing excitedly into Padfoot.

He jumped onto the bed and proceeded to lick and snuggle into Hermione incessantly. Hermione erupted into giggles, making her glad that Sirius had put a silencing charm on her room before their talk. After all, she was supposed to still be sick. By the time he had finished attacking her, he was panting tiredly, and she was clutching onto her sides, which hurt from laughing so much. She had really needed that laugh.

"Hermione..." Sirius said tentatively after they had both recovered.

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry, you know, he ventured softly. He knew he needed to get it out. It had been plaguing his mind ever since he had gotten to Grimmauld and realized that he hadn't apologized. "I always somehow manage to hurt you, either by being oblivious, insensitive, or just an arse. I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you, but I did nonetheless. I promise I'll be working hard to behave myself, but I can't promise that it'll be an overnight change," Sirius continued, his voice soft yet unwavering.

Hermione looked into Sirius's solemnly serious eyes, and knew he meant every single word. She knew that he wanted for things to be well, if not great, between them. He needed to set things right. He wanted her to see her Uncle Siri when she looked at him, not Sirius, whom she needed to remind herself to precede with the title of uncle. Things weren't magically going to get better, they both knew, but they would both work on it.

"I'll try too," Hermione whispered, smiling softly.

Sirius's relief and joy at Hermione's declaration soon showed itself in the form of Padfoot bounncing up and down happily on Hermione's bed. Hermione rolled her eyes at Sirius's display, but soon dissolved into a fit of giggles again. Sirius was just so silly, and it was just what she needed after the rather loaded morning she had had.

"Alright, Angel, oh so great one, what's going on?"

"Huh?" Hermione asked confused.

"You didn't think I'd be so...exuberant... if I didn't know that you needed a good laugh, now did you?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow. "Why were you upset?" he asked siriusly.

"It was nothing..." Hermione sighed.

Sirius didn't say anything, knowing that she'd say something eventually. After a few moments of silence, Hermione sighed again and decided that a second opinion probably wouldn't hurt.

"Sirius?"

"Yes, oh so great one?" Sirius asked mischievously.

"Heads of Houses are given a whole month to claim their status before the ministry and Wizengamot, right?"

"Well, on paper, yes, but if people claim it within the first week, they seem too eager, but if they wait more than three weeks they come off as rude, so _technically_ Heads of Houses have to claim their status 10-18 days after their House's magic choose them as heads," Sirius explained.

"What the hell am I going to do then?" Hermione groaned into her hands.

"What's wrong, Angel?"

"I wanted to claim headship on the 25th of August, just so that I'd have time to organize my stupid coming out ball. If I claimed headship on the 25th, having my ball more than a month later wouldn't look bad, if I made it during a holiday, like Halloween, but now I have to organize the damn thing before we all go to Hogwarts, and I still need to make sure that I go visit the businesses that I'm in charge of and make changes accordingly. I need to meet with Lucius Malfoy. And not to mention, how the fuck I'm supposed to explain things rationally to one Albus Dumbledore, without revealing my connection to Draco! Then we still have to start training, and I need to find someone that's willing to guide me through the nuances of the political and economic world! I can't do all of that even if I use the turner to relive a whole twenty-four hours at a time!" Hermione ranted, working herself into a full-blown panic attack.

Sirius looked at Hermione open-mouthed. He had never thought about everything else that the headship had dumped on her shoulders in addition to everything else she was trying to shoulder on her own. He hadn't thought of everything that came with being Head of House, since he never had a chance to be Head. His mother had thrown him out, and Regulus had been the one that had been performing those duties up until his death. Sure, he had gone through the training up until the Potters had taken him in, but he was never faced with having to _do_ any house duties.

Sirius spent a full fifteen minutes thinking things through before an idea hit him. And it was such a brilliant idea too! Absolutely wonderful! It was truly marauder worthy! The only thing would be getting Hermione to agree to it.

"Sirius, you're creeping me out... Stop with the creepy cat just ate the canary smile, please!" Hermione screeched thoroughly freaked out by the smug/evil smirk playing at his lips.

"I have an idea, and I want you to hear me out, alright? I think it might get this to work. First we'll settle the obvious, and then we'll move on to my brilliant masterpiece of a plot," Sirius said finally.

His smirk had not disappeared completely, further unnerving Hermione. Hermione nodded mutely, unsure of what she could say. She decided to just listen to Sirius's idea and then decided whether she should be terrified because Azkaban had finally gotten to Sirius or ecstatic because Sirius had a wonderful, plotting, evil mind.

"Alrighty, so about the ball. I can almost bet that if you or anyone else brings it up, the women will jump on the opportunity to organize it to the T. They'll probably just give you a few options for themes and then do everything else. They'll probably buy you the damn dress too, if you don't agree to a shopping spree day. So that's crossed off, now, tomorrow is Harry's birthday celebration here..."

And so Sirius explained, and both of their smiles grew wider and wider and wider, and creepier and creepier and creepier. With a letter to Ragnok explaining what they needed and why, they parted ways, and Hermione continued with her ill facade, adding in flushed, pained grimace for extra effect.

_**... Harry's Birthday- 0:01 AM, July 31st...**_

"Hermione?" Harry whispered groggily as she poked him awake.

She motioned him to follow her to her room. Harry, still half asleep, by some miracle managed to make it without killing himself or making too much noise. Hermione giggled softly as he slumped onto her bed and started snoring softly again. Hermione poked his side, causing him to tumble onto the floor. Harry groaned, massaging his shoulder, but at least he was awake now.

"This better be good, 'Mione. A birthday boy needs his beauty sleep," Harry said in a faux pompous tone.

"True, wouldn't want you looking like your usual droll self. Besides it's not your fault I got the better genes," Hermione sniffed delicately.

They both looked at each other before bursting out in a fit of soft giggles, trying their best to not wake anyone. After a few seconds of giggling, Hermione launched herself at her baby brother and started cooing about what a big boy he was now that he had finally turned fifteen. Harry turned bright red and started sputtering indignantly. Hermione, after having had her fun with Harry, decided to take pity on him and give him his present.

"Why are you giving this to me now? The party isn't until later..." Harry asked confused.

"Well, I'm terribly ill with this unexplained illness, and your party may be severely interrupted, but don't worry. It should go smashingly until Dumbles gets there, and then shit will go down," Hermione explained vaguely.

"Humma?" Harry gaped.

"Just open your present and make sure that you seem concerned about your _best friend_ and freak out when you need to," Hermione responded, her eyes narrowing slightly. Harry looked like he was about to say something, but Hermione, correctly guessing what he was going to say, soothed him. "Tonks and the twins will catch on and Sirius will give Moony Remy the heads up."

Harry conceded and tackled Hermione in a huge hug thanking her for the wonderful birthday greeting and present. He had no doubts that this would be his most eventful birthday _ever. _

_**... Harry's Birthday celebration hours later... **_

Despite having the knowledge that Hermione wasn't actually as sick as she seemed to be, the twins and Tonks couldn't help but feel uneasy about her absence from her own her own brother's party. It just didn't make any sense. Harry was acting a bit shifty, they noticed. He didn't seem too surprised when Molly had returned saying that it looked like Hermione had taken a turn for the worse and definitely wouldn't be making it down.

The twins nearly bowled over each other trying to get up to her room when Mrs. Weasley had announced that 'the poor girl is burning up with a fever and sweating enough to fill up a small pond.' They had nearly fainted when they saw that their mother hadn't been exaggerating and had even forgotten to mention that she was lying there fitfully, her face scrunched up in pain as a few moans exited her mouth. That was not mentioning that her hair seemed bent on alternating between bushy frizziness and vivacious curls.

What they didn't know was that Sirius had snuck into her room before dawn and had charmed her hair and hexed her with an ever-sweating hex.

She would remove the enchantments along with Poppy's transfigurations the second she heard Dumbledore's voice, and then the show would begin. Of course, having the extra hours she had had, she may or may not have taken Sirius's idea and taken up a few notches.

"Oh Albus, we're so glad you could come!" Molly gushed, giving Hermione her cue.

Hermione closed her eyes, fixing her face into a grimace as she relived her dreaded, haunting nightmare. Her breathing accelerated and she removed all the spells. She could feel herself sweating cold, but knew that it was due to the terrible memory/nightmare she had pulled herself into.

_"You are loved, so so loved. Mum and Dad love you. Be safe. Be strong. Remember, look and you will find," _Hermione murmured, her eyes closed.

_"No! Take me! Take me! Please, have mercy. Take me! Kill me!" _she cried desperately, thrashing slightly.

The voices downstairs paused, having heard her, but unsure of what to do. Hell, even Sirius wasn't sure of what to do, but discreetly sent his patronus to Gringotts, so that they'd send what they had agreed on.

_"Step aside and your life shall be spared," _Hermione hissed in a cold voice, still hundreds of degrees warmer than Voldemort's had been that night.

_"No!" _Hermione yelled defiantly.

_"Always too stupid to see what's good for you, and now you will die," _Hermione sneered.

_"Ava-"_

In her mind's eye, she heard her and her brother's deafening cries muffling the killing curse, as she saw a blinding green flash.

_"Mummy! No!" _Hermione cried, tears falling freely down her cheeks.

Hearing this, Harry could take it no longer, snapped out of his shock and raced up the stairs. Hermione's words from hours earlier were completely forgotten, his worry and panic very much so genuine. The twins and Tonks were not far behind him, and everybody else followed a few seconds afterward.

_"Bad! Hurt Mummy! Me hurt you!" _Hermione cried enraged, completely and fully lost within her memory now.

Her entire body caught fire, much as it had in her memory, and unconscious of doing so, Hermione launched a fireball that just barely missed Ron's head. As her body continued engulfed in her fire, the beddings started catching fire. Everyone stared dumbfounded, not knowing what to do. Sirius had no idea whether this was a side effect of the bonding, a part of the plan, or a legitimate nightmare like the one she had had at McGonagall Manor. Albus Dumbledore, meanwhile, was fighting the urge to run and hide in the countryside with his longtime love.

He had known that the girl had incredible magical prowess. It had incredibly boosted his own for quite a long time, and she had still had magic to spare. From what he could deduce, it seemed that the strange disease she had fallen ill to, had caused her magic to lash out. That must have been what had loosened his hold on her, he reasoned. Now, he could only pray that if she did get all of her memories back, that she wouldn't remember that it had been he behind the machinations because he wasn't too sure if he would be able to deal with her. He had been greatly weakened by the failed ritual, if her hair was anything to go by, and she had to be more magically powerful than anyone he knew at the moment, if the aura of power around her was anything to go by.

_"No! Not brodah! You!" _Hermione shouted, causing Tonks to snap into action.

Her best friend might not burn, but her clothes might, and the room and them most definitely were flammable. She didn't waste a single second as she doused the flaming Hermione and bed with a well-placed _aguamenti. _Less than a minute later, Hermione was sputtering in a scorched bed.

Everybody gaped at Hermione, whose her tattered clothes covering little more than the essential. However, _that _wasn't why most of the people that had crowded in her room were staring, no. _They _were staring at Hermione because of her now brilliant, vibrant _red, _not orange, hair that was now in beautiful, wild curls. Well, they were either staring at her hair or her glowing, vibrant, multi-colored/hazel eyes. Those who won't surprised by her change of appearance were staring at her still more than a bit noticeable rib bones.

"Herms?" Ronald Weasley gasped.

Hermione glared at the boy, trying to calm herself. He shouldn't die just because he continued using that horrendous nickname, even after she told him not to every single bloody sodding time. Salazar, that boy was an idiot.

"Don't call me that Ronald," Hermione snarled, her hair flaring up and eyes glowing just a bit brighter.

Harry's eyes widened, and felt the urge to play his part well in this whole fiasco. Therefore, being of the flesh and blood of a marauder, he jumped right into such a brilliant plot, and began his excellent performance.

"'M-Mione?" Harry said in a timorous voice. Hermione lifted an impatient eyebrow at him. "You're hair's on fire," he said, pointing at her fire red hair.

She moved a lock of her hair in front of her eyes, and let go of it and yelped, when she saw that it really was on fire. Her eyes welled up in tears, making everyone in the room uneasy.

"W-what's happening to me? There's so many memories," Hermione choked out.

With that, she sank onto the floor, curling into herself as she rocked back and forth, muttering the names of everyone that had been in her past, regurgitating innocent conversations she remembered. All in all, she was the perfect image of someone that had finally gone barmy or that was going through some kind of a nervous breakdown.

Harry sank onto his knees, and took her face in his hands, making her look at him. Her rocking ceased and the mutterings began to fade into sniffles. Harry tenderly brushed away the tears, and pulled her against his chest.

"Do you want to talk about it, 'Mione?" Harry asked softly, shooting a stern glare at everyone else making it clear that he would be the one to handle this and would be facing an irate birthday boy if they tried to interfere.

"It was that stupid dream I always used to have, but could never remember, but I re-remember now...Y-you were there... but you were so tiny, Harry. Your mum was my mum, and Daddy was the bestest person in the world. They were all there Harry, and then it went t-to hell. Mummy took us upstairs. She tried to stop him, but he just killed her. I got the bastard though... He didn't like that t-too much," Hermione said, a slightly hysterical tone to her voice, though her face was eerily empty.

"What are you saying 'Mione?" Harry asked confused.

"I-I think I'm your sister, Harry," Hermione whispered. "They're still coming Harry," Hermione breathed, her breathing starting to speed up again, as she pressed her forehead to Harry's shoulder, her eyes screwed shut, making it seem as if she was being assaulted by memories. "Uncle Frank and Aunty Alice...and Aunty Marly... Moony Remy, _Remus.._ U-uncle Siri, _Sirius..._Godric, what's wrong with me?" Hermione groaned.

Remus and Sirius sucked in an audible breath, causing everyone to turn their attention to the two marauders. Their faces were affixed with confusion. They shook their heads.

"W-we don't remember..." Sirius said.

"It sounds familiar, but I don't recall them having had a girl," Remus added.

The marauder's words visibly calmed Albus, but only served to further confuse everyone else, save Harry, the twins and Tonks, who had already caught on to what this whole thing was. Alastor Moody had caught Dumbledore's look of relief and knew that something was definitely up.

"_Well some _things _are _up_, if the youngest Weasley boy is anything to go by,"_ Moody thought with disgust, seeing that the boy had seemingly zoned out and seemed to only be capable of staring at the Granger, possibly Potter, girl in her tattered clothes.

"How 'bout we all go downstairs and let the girl change into somethin' less... damaged and we can try ta sort it all out, eh?" Alastor grunted, already making his way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Everybody else muttered their agreement and quickly left Harry and Hermione alone in the room. Harry and Hermione smirked slightly, but quickly got back in character. It wouldn't do to bugger this up, after all. With an encouraging smile from Harry before he too went downstairs, Hermione shed her scorched pajamas and put on her only pair of jeans and the better of her four T-shirts.

She made her way downstairs, feet dragging, shoulders slumped and eyes pinned to the floor. She was the image of fear and defeat itself. Albus's eyes twinkled at the sight. The girl looked so lost, it wasn't possible that she had regained any memories of him obliviating her. Just as he was about to speak, however, a regal owl swooped into the room and headed straight for Hermione.

No one could speak, and Hermione who seemed to be on auto-pilot, took the letter from the owl, tore open the envelope and read. Her eyes grew wider and wider with every word, until it finally slipped from her hands and floated to the floor. Her face had paled, and she looked rather dazed, but at least she wasn't hyperventilating again, some of them thought.

"What did it say, dear?" Molly asked. Hermione only shook her head in response.

One of the twins swooped down to grab the fallen parchment and, taking turns, they read it out loud for everyone to hear:

"_Miss Hermione Jean Granger/ Hermione Rhea Potter,_

_This letter is in regards to the account that you and one Lord Thomas Alexander McKinnon attempted to open for one Hermione Jean Granger. At the time of your solicitude, you and Lord McKinnon were told that such an action could not be taken, and that the reason for this could not yet be revealed. However, due to happenings earlier this evening. It has come to Gringotts' attention that such reason may now be revealed. _

_The reason for which an account for Hermione Jean Granger could not be opened is because Hermione Jean Granger never existed, and until this time Hermione Rhea Potter did not truly exist either. However, the blood we took from you on the day of your request has indicated that you now are Hermione Rhea Potter. Your magic and blood has proclaimed you Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. _

_As you can imagine, we have many things to discuss. This parchment is a portkey that will bring you straight to my office. I expect to see you within a few hours. The passkey is Tywysoges. _

_May the blood of your enemies flow,_

_King and Leader of the Goblins of Great Britain, Ragnok"_

...

Everybody's eyes widened as the twins finished reading the letter. Albus paled, feeling, for the first time in his life, as if his moves were at risk of being discovered. From what the goblins had written, it almost seemed as if the goblins _knew_ something. Of course that was impossible, they would have had to have gone out of their way and meddle in wizarding affairs without prompting, and as of quite a few centuries past, that was prohibited, and they wouldn't dare do something that could spark another war.

Molly Weasley and Ronald Weasley's eyes, unlike those of the others in the room, were widened at the thought of what would be theirs as soon as Hermione went to Ron as was meant to be. The twins could see them practically salivating at the thought of the Potter fortune, and they weren't alone in their observation. Mad-Eye Moody, unlike the twins, was not one to pussy-foot around anything, and had no qualms about expressing his disgust.

"You ken stop lookin' at her as if she's a bone for a dog, you salivatin' gold diggers," Moody snapped at the two weasels.

"Now, now, there's no need to snap at anyone, Alastor," Dumbledore said in his usual calm, grandfather tone. Harry just barely suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at the old man. He was starting to see what Hermione meant by saying that he was quite predictable. "Hermione, dear, I will accompany you to Gringotts, and we can get this whole ordeal resolved," he continued sagely.

"The letter did not indicate that I was to take anyone else for the meeting, and in any case… these are matters of House of Potter, if I were entitled to take anyone with me, I would be obliged to take Harry, as he is the next in line," Hermione said firmly and regally, her chin lifting imperiously. She turned to the twins, who still had the letter from Gringotts. "Now, Frederick, if I may have my letter," she said in her no-nonsense tone.

"You impertinent child. How dare you spe-!" Molly started shrieking, before Hermione whipped out her wand and silently silenced the screeching, fuming red-headed woman.

"No, how dare _you, _Molly Weasley? How dare you yell at me, and reprimand me for taking an action that is well within my rights? It is not my fault that _Headmaster_ Dumbledore does not respect boundaries, and I know what you are all thinking: how would a muggle-raised _girl_ know about pureblood protocol?" Hermione ranted, still managing to look like royalty in her rage. "Well, in case you weren't well-aware, I like to read, and after being called a mudblood second year, I figured I was in dire need of knowing and understanding the culture I had gotten myself into. Now, if you would excuse me, I believe I need to pack," Hermione finished primly.

"Pack, dear girl?" Dumbledore asked, his voice wavering toward a hiss.

Albus Dumbledore was not a happy man. This was never supposed to happen. Hell, the girl wasn't even supposed to have magic, after the ritual, but she did. She wasn't supposed to be a formidable witch, but she was. She and her brother were not supposed to be problems, but they were. He just could never get full control over the two Potters, and it was getting more than a bit aggravating. They were supposed to be dead by now, but they just wouldn't die!

"Well, of course Headmaster. You can't expect me to live in the same house that I've been poisoned twice by the same damn woman. I've been overdosed twice. This last time left me bed-ridden for nearly a whole week! I refuse to be in the same house as that wretched hag. Harry, are you coming?"

"B-but what about Sirius, 'Mione?" Harry stuttered, looking truly torn. Hermione just lifted her eyebrows in exasperation. "We can't just bloody leave him!" Harry burst out.

"And we can't bloody well take him, now can we?" Hermione snapped. Harry's eyes flashed with hurt, making Hermione deflate slightly. "I'll raise the matter to clear his name at the Wizengamot once I claim my headship there, alright? Just… do you want to come with me, if not we can see each other at Hogwarts…" Hermione said softer, but her posture just as firm as before.

"You promise we won't leave him behind?" Harry asked. Hermione smiled, ruffling his hair before prompting him to pack up. He soared upstairs.

"Sirius, Remus, Fred, George, Nym, I'll owl you all once this all settles down. You're all invited to spend the rest of summer with us of course. Just a fair warning to all of you, I will be checking our belongings and our persons for any _misplaced_ charms and will be removing them, so don't be too disappointed when you can't get a good read on either of us," Hermione announced before heading upstairs as well.

She cast diagnostic charms on all of her possessions and then herself, and to her surprise, she actually found a simple tracking charm on her copy of _Hogwarts: A History_, on her trunk, and on the only jumper she owned_._ She had not expected that. She had thought that Harry would be the one with the tracking charms. With another wave of her wand, she removed the tracking charm and shrank her trunk.

She made her way over to Harry's room and did the same as she had done to herself and her belongings. She was surprised to see that he only had one tracking charm, and that was on his broom. Apparently, they had thought she was harder to control than Harry. Then again, Harry, according to Dumbledore, had much more to lose than she did if they were to do a runner.

"Alright then, are we good then?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded, motioning for him to take ahold of the letter. A whispered 'tywysoges' later, and they were gone. Harry looked around the mansion in awe. This definitely was not Gringotts. Hermione giggled at her brother's bug-eyed expression and slacked jaw.

"Where are we?" he breathed, the awe in his voice evident.

"Harry, welcome to the most illustrious Manor of the most Ancient and Noble House of Potter," Hermione said with a bright smile on her face.

"Did we ever live here?"

"Yes, we lived here until you were two months old, a bit after my first birthday, actually," Hermione replied, taking in the glowing manor.

The elves had really outdone themselves. The house looked absolutely spectacular. As if hearing her thoughts, Tillie appeared before them, beaming.

"Mistress Mia Miss! Master Harry! You bes back! Would yous like anything to eat? Wes can makes special meal for Mater Harry's birthday!" she gushed, causing Harry to grin amusedly.

"Would you please, Tillie? I'm absolutely famished!" Hermione replied instantly. "I'll be giving Harry a tour, could you find us when it's ready?"

" 'Mione, when did you last eat?" Harry asked curiously, wondering why Hermione had taken the elf up on the offer so quickly. Usually, she would ask if it wasn't too much trouble, then ask if they were absolutely sure, and then ask if she could help, and _then_ accede.

"Um, breakfast yesterday I think…. Yep, because I had to take my nourishment potions, and they taste better with food… shit, Aunt Poppy is going to throw a fit," Hermione groaned.

"You didn't take your potions today, and you didn't bring any with you, did you?" Harry asked already knowing the answer. Hermione really needed to take care of herself. She needed to understand that her health was important.

"No.." Hermione groaned. "Do you think she'll go easier on me if I floo call her and ask her for some now? Or should I just wait until she yells at me tomorrow?" Hermione asked Harry, as she started going up the stairs to start the tour.

"I doubt she'd yell at you, but please floo call her. I don't want you skipping any potions, Hermione," Harry sighed.

"Floo call after dinner then. Now come on, the house is _huge_. We'll tour the grounds tomorrow with everyone else, alright?"

…**. **_**After dinner…..**_

"Hello? Anyone?" Hermione sing-songed into the fireplace.

She really, truly despised floo calling. Being on your knees, crouching down into the green flames throughout the entirety of a conversation was just simply ridiculous, and very painful. She really needed to get electronics and magic to work together. If she could get phones to work around magic, she'd make a fortune… well add to it…

"Er… Mia?" a voice he hadn't heard in quite a while called back, causing her eyebrows to furrow. The face that went with said voice soon came into view, making Hermione to beam happily.

"Uncle Frank!" Hermione squealed.

"Mia! Baby girl! It's great to see you again!"

"I'm glad to see you're a lot better now," Hermione grinned.

"I feel as good as new, but Poppy refuses to let us out of bed," Frank whined.

"Welcome to my life. Anyways, why are you answering the floo, if you're not supposed to be out of bed?"

"Poppy, Minnie, and some blonde girl went off to Andromeda's and were going to go to Mum's house later," Frank replied happily, obviously ecstatic about finally being up and about.

"Great! That's perfect! Uncle Frank, can I come through?" Hermione asked, relieved that she wouldn't have to face the wrath of her healer aunt.

"Of course, baby girl, we need to catch up some!" Frank grinned.

"Harry, do you want to come to McGonagall Manor?" she asked behind her shoulder.

"No, I think I'm going to send an owl to tell them we're fine and that we expect to see them in Diagon Alley tomorrow morning around nine, so we can come here, yeah?" Harry proposed, shocking Hermione with his thoughtfulness.

"Oh, that'd be great Harry! Thanks!" Hermione beamed before stepping through to McGonagall Manor.

…**.McGonagall Manor….**

"Mia!" Frank exclaimed, grabbing Hermione by the waist and spinning her around.

Frank let her go with a confused look on his face. That had been too easy. He was well on the way of recovering, but he wasn't that strong yet. Spinning around an almost sixteen year old young woman should have been a strain.

"Uncle Frank!" Hermione admonished. "You shouldn't be carrying anything heavy!"

"Hardly! You're much too light Mia!" Frank laughed.

"Shit! Potions, right... Uncle Frank, do you know where Aunt Poppy has her potions?"

"Yeah, she has them in a cabinet in our room," Frank replied, offering Hermione the crook of his elbow to lead her to the makeshift McGonagall infirmary. "I still can't believe we were out for so long! Just three days ago we had taken your daddy, Uncle Sirius and I had taken all of our little ones to the park! Now, I look into the mirror and realize that I have two white hairs! Two! And you're all grown up, absolutely gorgeous, and not a baby anymore. Little Neville isn't so little anymore. He's almost as tall as I am, and he just turned fifteen! It drives me spare. For us, it felt like a fitful night of sleep, and we "wake up," but it feels more like a dream than the darkness we were in," Frank exclaimed, letting all of his frustrations out.

"Good dream or bad dream?"

"It's like a nightmare waiting to happen... I know that we aren't being told something or things. Alice doesn't want to hear any of it. She just wants to believe everything is fine and dandy, and ignore anything that might say otherwise. She only has eyes for Neville and is more than willing to let the world burn if it has to, and as much as I wish we could all just relish in each other's company and reconnect, we can't. That night, there was something _off_ about the whole thing. I mean, both houses were under the fidelus. Pettigrew betrayed and we were told it was safe, and the second the safeguards are down, shit goes down. It's too shifty for it to just be a coincidence," Frank mused. Hermione smiled at her godfather, seeing why he had quickly been making his way up the ladder. He had been Amy's main competition. They probably would have been nemesis, if they hadn't gotten along smashingly from the start.

"Looks like we're here, what do you know?" Hermione laughs, ducking into the room before Frank can keep making deductions.

Hermione really, really didn't want to get into all the heavy stuff. It had already been a long day. She had been ridiculously hungry for most of it, and then she had to pull on an acting show, which had ended up being so good it stopped feeling like an act. As a result she was tired; she just wanted to take her potions, avoid a confrontation with one irritable Poppy Pomfrey, sleep, and hope to all that was holy that she didn't have to relive that damn dream, again.

Hermione immediately rushed to the cabinet with the medicines and easily found the potion that Poppy had been giving to her. She just took two flasks, not wanting to give her Uncle Frank any reason to ask even more questions. He, at least, would know what was going on by this time tomorrow.

"What do you need potions for?" Frank asked, eyeing the two flasks in her hands suspiciously.

"Nothing big, Uncle Frank," she smiled. "Anyways, you'll get used to the whole time disconnection thing," Hermione sighed heavily, patting his shoulder, as she started heading for the floo.

"You make it sound like you know what it's like," Frank laughed wryly, not liking how his sixth sense was tingling. Something big was going on, and he wanted to know what it was. When Hermione smiled a small tense smile at him, he _knew_ it wasn't big. No, it was huge, and it wasn't pretty at all.

"See you tomorrow Uncle Frank!" Hermione said chirpily, before ducking into the floo and making her escape before Frank could question her any further.

**A/N Soooo next chapter is going to be the meeting. Everyone will be getting on the same page. I hope to bring in at least Frank, but I might include Arthur and Alice. Any who, I hope to include the much awaited flying lessons, and you can expect the next chapter to stray away from Narrator's POV, since I feel a lot more comfortable using first person... so yeah.. **

**please review! ^_^**


	26. PMS&PMM (Potter Manor Meeting)

**A/N Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, and answered the question I had on the last (temporary) chapter. I greatly appreciated it, and thank you all who have followed/favorited and showed their support for my story, so yeah THANKS! I love y'all! :D **

**Alright, so this isn't proofread... I'm sorry. If it's really bad, please tell me and I'll read it over and edit it, but if it's not too bad, it will suffer the same fate as the other unedited chapters. They will get proofread...eventually. SO yeah... **

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, so I shall not take any credit for that. However, the story line/plot **_**is **_**mine. **

**George's POV**

"You will not be going, I tell you!" our mother screeched at us for seemingly the hundredth time since Harry's owl had arrived.

It seemed that our completely reasonable and legitimate arguments hadn't gotten through to her AT ALL. We knew, for certain, that she didn't have hearing issues, since she had a keen ear whenever there was even the smallest peep of gossip or mischief within 30 kilometers! She just wasn't listening to calm rationalizing, and it was getting beyond annoying. I exchanged a look with my less attractive twin, Fred, and knew that we were on the same page.

"And we don't-"

"-Bloody care if you don't-"

"Want us to go!" we exploded, successfully shutting her up, a miracle in itself.

She stared at us, mouth moving, but no sound coming out, and we took it as our chance to get her to hear, and maybe even _listen_ to what we had to say.

"We will be going, and you can't stop us. We are of age, mother," Fred started.

"And you no longer have any say as to what we can or can't do. Just so you know. We will be spending the rest of summer at the Potter's so, hopefully, we'll see you at the platform," I finished.

"And don't worry, we won't be over there alone. Tonks, Lupin, and Sirius will all be staying the summer too," Fred added, before we all booked it to Sirius's room, where we had all agreed to group apparate to Fortescue's.

"Are you all ready?" Lupin asked us all with an easy grin.

Fred and George looked at each other before giving him identical nods with matching beaming grins. Damn it felt good to finally speak up, and render our mother silent! It was like a weight off the shoulders. We felt so _light... _

"All right, to fortescue's of three, alright?"

"Gotcha," we all chimed with a grin.

And on the count of three we were gone.

**-O-**

**Harry's POV**

"Harry! We're going to be late!" Hermione whined, not pausing in her violent assault.

I was trying to avoid her slaps, but that girl had bloody good aim. I hadn't known I was so close to the edge of the huge bed until I rolled off. Thankfully, I narrowly missed the night stand, but bloody hell it still hurt.

"Bloody hell that hurt, 'Mione," I grumbled, fumbling for my glasses.

I couldn't see anything, and I couldn't very well hex her if I couldn't bloody see her.

"Honestly, it's not my fault you take so bloody long to wake up. We're going to have to eat breakfast in the Alley now. We're flooing out in fifteen minutes, so I suggest you get your lazy arse up," Hermione snapped impatiently.

"Someone's grumpy today," I mumbled, wondering what had her knickers in a twist.

"It's my first day out in public like this, and I'm out with you! Excuse _me _for freaking out!" Hermione huffed before stomping out of my room.

"Someone's PMS'ing," I grumbled bitterly, as I scrambled around trying to get ready as quickly as humanly possible before she decided to chop his head off.

"I'm ready! I'm ready!" I called as I rushed down the stairs.

"Let's go then... Maybe no one will see me," Hermione said hopefully.

"Why does it bug you so much, whether someone sees you or not?" I asked, wondering what was her sudden issue with being in the spotlight all of a sudden. She had been Hermione Granger, best friend of Harry Potter, Brightest Witch of the Age, for years!

"Harry, look at me," she said meekly. "Everyone that sees me sees Grandma Dorea...I bumped into her earlier today, and the only difference is I look like a skeletal version of her with red sodding hair! Oh and the glowing eyes, can't forget my freaky eyes," she muttered, tears tugging at her eyes.

She was obviously edging on a crisis, and I had no idea why. I didn't see why her looking like our grandama...wow that sounded weird, was a problem, or why it would lead her to the verge of tears. I had no idea what could possibly cause her to be reacting so _emotionally_... well unless she really was PMS'ing. But then, she had never such extreme mood swings. Sure her evil glares would actually be accompanied with a book slap during those days, but she was never so... _feely. _

"Hermione.. why are you so upset?" I asked softly, gently holding onto her wrists.

"Harry, I look like a Potter. A Potter that shouldn't even exist. I'm Head of House to boot. I'm going to be a speculated bastard child, stealing your rightful position _or _I'm going to be a dark witch that by some obscure dark ritual made herself a Potter by blood and magic. Oh, not to mention that anyone that knew Grandma Dorea is going to either faint or look at me in horror," she muttered bitterly. "_She _looked at me with horror and pity all in one before she burst into tears when she realized who I was. Do I really look that terrible?" Hermione said in a smaller voice.

"Hermione, you look beautiful. It's just that before, we couldn't see any unfilled curves and you had always been so narrow and tiny. Now, we can all see that once you finish your nutrition regime and eat regularly, you're going to have killer curves and your face is going to look less sharp, more angelic. Before, we couldn't possibly tell, and now we can see, that's all," I explained patiently, although I really wanted to bang my head on a wall.

I still wasn't good at the whole emotions thing. I had gotten better through all the bantering I had gone through with the twins and Tonks. I had probably botched it up somewhere along the lines. Was I allowed to say she had always been small and implied that she didn't really have curves before? Would that insult her? Or would the fact that I may have said that she had a sharp-ish face hurt her? I groaned mentally. I was really over thinking this, wasn't I?

"I'm sorry for dumping it all on you, Harry," Hermione sniffled.

"Don't worry about what people say or think, alright? You're my sister, and nothing's going to change that," I said hugging her tightly.

I felt Hermione nod against my chest. I held her there, until I felt the corners of her lips moving. For some reason he had the sinking feeling that she was smirking, and that _never_ boded well.

"Oh, and by the way. I loved your oh so accurate assessment of my appearance, Harry. It's nice to know I _could _have an angelic face and killer curves once you all fatten me up," Hermione said in a faux haughty tone that made me blush nonetheless.

"Well it's true," I muttered. "We're going to have a hell of a time keeping horny bastards away from you."

Hermione's eyes narrowed at me, and she aimed at the backside of my head. I dodged just in time, but somehow ended up tripping on a vine that definitely hadn't been there before. I glared at the now laughing Hermione, but couldn't help but join her laughter at the sheer ridiculous change of mood. She had gone from murderous, to crying, to teasing!

_**... Diagon Alley...**_

I really had thought that Hermione had been exaggerating in her predictions, but she was spot on. Enraged and accusing murmurs of a dark magic and a non-existent Potter _girl. _Some of the older people, well it had only been two older ladies, but still. They had actually fainted! They gasped something that eerily sounded a lot like "D-Dorea," and crumpled to the ground.

Bloody hell, _everyone_ was staring. They would all look at me with disdain, obviously believing that I had lied about Voldemort's return, but that would all disappear the second they caught sight of Hermione walking next to me. There would be a horrified gasp or an uttered curse and then all the hate would be channeled at her. Some people even had the gall of sending me pitying looks!

Much to my surprise, however, Hermione didn't react at all. It was like she hadn't been a hair away of having a nervous breakdown at just the thought of this happening. It was actually happening, and she just simply stood proud at my side, her face impassive. She looked like royalty, like a queen that couldn't be bothered to even acknowledge the presence of the riff raff, much less their opinions of her.

I really needed to learn from her. Even with all my Occlumency, I could still feel myself shrinking into myself and huddling closer and closer to Hermione. She, bless her, sent me a reassuring smile and took my hand in hers, giving me the strength and confidence I needed...like always.

My eyes widened and my mouth sprung open at the realization. How could I have been such an insensitive jerk to her for so long? She had always, absolutely always without exception, been there for him, lending me her help and support, and had I ever reciprocated? No, I had not, and there had to have been times where she was hurting for even a morsel of support. I hadn't even given her _some_ indication that I appreciated what she did for me.

Hell, even right now _she _was the one on the receiving end of the hostility, yet she was the one assuring _me_! Now that I looked back with open eyes, I could clearly see what a sodding wanker I had been. I couldn't fathom why she hadn't dropped Ron and I like the pieces of utter shit we were...

Ron only used her for her smarts and seemed to enjoy demeaning her, and I, utter arse and terrible brother that I am, would _always_ take his side. I would follow him like a lost sodding puppy, and _abandon_ her with less than a second thought, not even pausing to consider that she was my best friend too, that she should receive the same amount of thought and consideration that Ron received.

I ignored, abandoned, and been an utter arse to her time and time again, and for some crazy reason she was still there, here, by my side, and this was even before we, she, had discovered she was my sister. I didn't deserve her, but never again would anyone come before her. Gryffindors and Potters were brave and loyal to a fault. I was a Gryffindor. I was a Potter, and it was about time I bloody started acting like it.

"Never again," I said resolutely, making Hermione snap around to look at me completely flummoxed.

"Huh?"

"Never again will I ignore, abandon, or cast you aside. Never again will I be such a bloody arsehole. Before discovering this you were, still are, my best friend. You're my sister too, and it's bloody time I started acting like your best friend and brother. I promise I will strive, with all that I am, to never again be such an utter insensitive prick of a shitty person to you 'Mione, and you and anyone else from our bizarre extended family has the right to hex me the second I'm even close to stepping out of line," I said solemnly looking her straight in the eyes.

Her eyes had started getting suspiciously glassy, but she dragged me into a tight hug before any tears could start peaking out. I could feel her shaking slightly against me, but the dampness I was expecting to feel on my shirt, never came. It was evident that the tight reign she had on herself had on slackened momentarily in the face of my abrupt moment of sentimentality. That, considering her current emotional state, was a testament of her control. I didn't really know if she was so good at emotional control because she was so good at Occlumency or because she had so much practice, but nonetheless it was practically a superhuman power of hers.

"I'm so bloody sorry 'Mione. I don't deserve you, but I'll be damned if I don't try," I mumbled as she pulled away.

She grinned brightly at me, the brightest smile I had ever seen directed at me. I had seen a smile not quite as wide but just as sweet and bright directed at Draco the first time I had seen him this summer. The whole soul bonded thing still bothered me a bit, but seeing the way that he could get that special smile from her and the way he looked at her so adoringly, made it easier to stomach. The fact that I hadn't really realized that she was a girl that could possibly be interested in or involved with anyone romantically, until I had seen her blushing and laughing with Viktor Krum at the Yule Ball last year, had made it incredibly hard for me to see that my best friend, now sister, could and would be dating.

I just wanted to lock her up away from everyone, but instead I had to listen to boys talk about how desirable she is and how they didn't have a chance. Merlin, the fantasizing I had to hear them do. At least seeing her all happy and blushing and _giggly_ made it easier to accept that I wouldn't be locking her up in a tower and keeping her away from any and all males that were not directly related to her. If she was happy, I could tone down the protectiveness a bit.

I still did not appreciate seeing her all lovey dovey, and stuff, but I could bear a few, not too over-indulgent, affectional displays, if it made her happy. Besides, I kind of _had_ to tolerate it, considering that Draco really didn't seem to have any qualms as to who was in the general vicinity. He'd snuggle into her and look at her as if she were the goddess of love and beauty and perfection incarnated, no matter who was around. The fact that he could make her _glow_ with contentment, make her blush, laugh, smile, and giggle, and even render her _giggle_ just made it worth the uncomfortableness... up to a point.

"We are not that bad you know," Hermione laughed.

"You don't see yourselves. You're disgustingly cute, and just how did you know what I was thinking?" I asked her, with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh please, you were practically projecting your thoughts! That look of toleration mixed with disgust and resignation gave me a clue. I didn't even have to go into your mind, just clearing my mind and extending my awareness gave me the gist of what you were thinking," Hermione defended herself, her eyes teasing.

I cleared my mind and extended it, just as she had, knowing that her own mind would be screaming whatever she hadn't said out loud but was itching to say.

I think she was on about something that felt strangely like 'Hufflepuff gal.' Merlin, no one was supposed to know about that, but one slip up and they knew, and it seemed she hadn't forgotten about it. I had the distinct feeling that if she hadn't guessed by now, she had at least narrowed it down to a few people. She laughed gaily at the sight of my blush, and she so was not getting away with making fun of me for liking my... er her. She wasn't mine... not yet at least.

I blushed even brighter at my thoughts. Before this strange summer, I would have swallowed my feelings and given up any hope of even speaking to her, but now I was determined to at least befriend her, if she wasn't interested in a date...or prolonged dating. I shook the thoughts from my head and went to mess up Hermione's wild curls. My hand jerked to a stop less than a centimeter from her hair when I could feel a suspicious amount of heat emanating from it. I could see her smirking smugly at me, making me scowl. I was going to go for it anyways, seeing that her hair wasn't glowing or on flames, but her eyes narrowed and lit up with a hint of mischievousness that made me think again.

"I dare you Harry James Potter. I dare you," she growled.

"You're no fun. Why am I the only one with messy hair?" I pouted, crossing my arms.

She, the brat, stuck her tongue out at me victoriously before merrily skipping away to the two orange blobs in the distance. What were they doing outside of Fortescue's? He didn't open shop until _exactly_ nine o'clock.

When I had said Diagon Alley, I had expected them to be waiting for us at the Leaky Cauldron, but by the time we had had our breakfast there, it was already ten 'til, and they hadn't shown face. Since it was never too early for ice cream at Fortescue's and it wasn't early enough to have to wait too long, I had _suggested_ that a walk in the general direction of the ice cream parlour couldn't possibly hurt. Hermione had only smirked and me and obliged, saying that she had business there anyway. I picked up my pace to catch up to my sister, practically tasting the frozen goodness I'd be having in just a few minutes already...

**-O-**

**Fred's POV**

It had been half past eight when the tossers had left us here, outside of Fortescue's. Lupin and Sirius, in doggy form of course, had apparated away to who knows where, leaving Tonks, George and I to fend for ourselves outside of the 'closed until nine' ice cream parlour. It was now officially 8:56, we were bored out of our minds, and there still wasn't any sign of Hermione and Harry or the damn tossers that left us here to die of boredom.

For the hundredth time, it seemed, all three of us heaved out a heavy sigh, testament of how bored we truly were.

"Sirius, are you crazy! What are you-" Tonks exclaimed in a hissing whisper, her hair morphing between shades of anxious orange.

"-I, my dear Nymphadora, am a free man," Sirius cut her off jovially.

This had to be the first time she looked so happy after hearing her birth name. She squealed and laughed and jumped up and down, and then she tackled Sirius in a huge hug, before tackling Lupin into the ground. George and I looked at each other in shock before bursting out in raucous laughter. The lot of us were laughing hysterically by the time I heard a mirthful voice breaking us out of our laughing spell.

"I take it Lord Sirius Black is now officially cleared of all accusations?" Hermione asked with a bright, happy smile.

"All thanks to you, Angel oh so great one!" Sirius grinned wolfishly before lifting her from the waist and twirled her around and around and around.

Hermione had been swaying dangerously by the time Sirius had set her down. Making everyone laugh as she drunkenly made her way into the Parlour. Somehow, she still had more grace than Tonks, who managed to trip into the ice cream shop.

**-O-**

**Hermione's POV**

"Lady Potter.. It is Lady Potter now, no?" Florean asked timidly. A quick mental projection from Sirius told me that Florean Fortescue had been the one person outside of our extended family that had known of my existence as a mere babe.

"Yes, Mr. Fortescue, and I must thank you for being the only one that seemed to have the decency to uphold their agreement with my family," I said graciously, bowing my head in thanks.

His lips pursed in disdain at the very thought of not being loyal to the family that had made their dreams come true. I smiled, practically hearing his thoughts about the lack of decency, honor, and respect nowadays. "Not to worry, though. I'll be paying all of them visits. I do believe that House of Potter has been out for long enough. Considering how things have slipped and the new management, I'll be implementing _quite _a few changes," I continued charismatically. Mr. Fortescue smiled at me, obviously agreeing with my decisions.

"Would you like to go over the accounting books, or see the back, Lady Potter?" he offered.

"I would very much like to set up an appointment, if you could be amenable?"

"Of course, milady. When and what would you like to discuss?" he answered immediately, making me smile softly.

"My aim is to see if I can help the business in any manner, from providing extra hands, remodeling, a new location, or anything else, so I would appreciate it if I could come any day that works for you, around eight so that you can give me a quick rundown of how everything works, and I'll spend most or the entire day here, trying to get a feel for what could help, does that sound alright with you, Mr. Florescue?" I explained, causing a bright smile to appear on his kind, worn face.

"That sounds absolutely marvelous, Lady Potter. With all due respect milady, I do believe your parents and grandparents would be immensely proud of you," he said warmly.

"I thank you for your kind words, Mr. Fortescue. Now, we must take our leave, but I shall await your owl with a date that works for you."

...

I had Harry stay with everyone else, just outside of the Manor's grounds, not that they knew that, as I asked to be taken to my study. Seeing as I had cleared the ward books, no one but a Potter by blood had access to the Manor, and so one by one, I added each of the people I would grant acceptance into the Manor: Thomas Alexander McKinnon, Remus John Lupin, Sirius Orion Black, Marlene Cannan Black nee McKinnon, Nymphadora Tonks, Andromeda Tonks nee Black, Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, Poppy Pomfrey, Augusta Longbottom nee Fawley, Alice Marie Longbottom nee Cornfoot, Frank Longbottom, Neville Longbottom, William Arthur Weasley, Charles Aidan Weasley, Percy Ignatius Weasley, George Fabian Weasley, Fred Gideon Weasley, Arthur Septimus Weasley, Viktor Boyko Krum, Fleur Apolline Delacour, and Draco Alexander Black.

I bit my lip, just barely resisting the urge to reach out to him mentally. He was visiting pug-faced Parkinson again, and I was getting irritated. Apparently last time he had visited Pansy had complained about how distracted Draco had been. She had whined enough that his father had said that a similar complaint this time around would equate to severe punishment. He thought it was worth it, but I was having none of that. He was not getting hurt on my account, so after a very long discussion, I put my foot down and told him I would occlude him completely if he wasn't going to stay in his own mind on his own.

I groaned as I got a flash of Parkinson's 'flirtatious' smile and Draco's exasperation. Great, the git was right. I had crossed into his mind before he had mine. I could feel his smugness. Prat. Now, I owed him a nice long snog.

"_Told ya so," _he said smugly, before his thoughts started taking a completely different turn. "_Oooh, now I have something to look forward to. Did you know you taste absolutely delicious?" _

"_Shut up!" _I replied, feeling myself blush brightly.

"_You're cute when you blush, did you know that?"_

"_You can't even see me!"_

"_But I can feel you blushing, and you're gorgeous when you blush, and smile, and laugh, and-."_

"_Merlin, just go back to fending off Pansy!" _I snapped, cutting him off before he made me blush even more, which I doubted was humanly possible.

I was trying to force my blush down when the door to the study slammed open. Damn, I forgot to go get the others. Oops.

"You forgot about us, didn't you?" Harry accused, smirking at my still flushed face.

"Noooo, of course I didn't... I just got a tad held up," I half-lied.

"You lost your ridiculous bet with Draco, didn't you?" Harry correctly guessed.

"Yes, that arse wasted no time to rub it in my face," I grumbled.

"Well, you can tease him back, if he has a reddened wrist, alright?" Harry appeased. At my confused look he explained. "He got a rubber band to keep himself out. He knew he wouldn't be able to do it without some way to _snap _himself out of it."

Oh that arsehole! That wasn't fair! No wonder my wrist kept getting those little shocks. I thought I had thought it was a little crick, that maybe I had slept weird or something.

"_Can you blame me? Now, I get to teach you how to fly, all by myself, _and _I get to snog you as long as I want to!" _Draco responded happily to my thoughts.

I pouted as my indignation dissolved. I supposed it wasn't that bad. Besides the idiot had suffered regardless. If I could feel a slight discomfort, it meant that it had actually been slightly painful for him.

"_I am sorry, Mia. I didn't know you would feel it too," _Draco added at those particular thoughts. I could feel his repentance pouring into me.

"_It's alright. It didn't hurt. Go back to the pug, alright? I have a feeling this is your last visit to the royal bitch. Sirius is free and I have no doubts that you'll end up being revealed as the Black heir by or at the next Wizengamot meeting." _

"I really hate it when you do that telepathy thing, 'Mione," Harry groaned. "I can never guess what's going on unless you blush!" Harry whined, making me smirk as I walked out of the study, leaving him behind pouting.

**...The evening, around dinner time... **

All but Draco had arrived by now, and I was freaking out. Uncle Frank was watching me like a hawk. His eyes had narrowed when Marlene and I exchanged a warm, yet not exuberant greeting. It seemed that he had picked up on the fact that we weren't very familiar with one another. My godfather was too smart for my good. What was worse was that he had, apparently, talked Aunt Alice out of ostrich mode. Her eyes were not as keen as Uncle Frank's, but she was more assertive than he was, and that did not bode well right now.

Today was meant to be an introduction of the training regime and a rundown of our timeline, without needing to go too into depth of all the history until a later date. However, I could already tell that Uncle Frank had pinned down the fact that I was the most comfortable around Viktor, Tonks, the twins, Harry and Neville, and not my godmother Marlene or Aunts Poppy or Minnie, who should have been surrogate mothers to me. I had no doubts that both he and Aunt Alice had also seen the way that Viktor, Papa Tommy, Neville, and the twins seemed to gravitate between me and any doorways, windows, or other people, unconsciously placing themselves as a physical barrier between me and any potential dangers.

"Neville, honey, your father and I would like to have a little chat with you," Aunt Alice said sweetly.

"Mother, you might as well accompany us," Uncle Frank sighed, as he helped Aunt Alice out of her chair.

Neville sent me an uneasy look. It looked like I wasn't the only one that had noticed that they were catching on rather quickly. I just sent him a weak smile as reassurance, but was feeling as anxious as he looked. He stood quickly and followed his parents, his shoulder set.

Augusta stood with a grim set of her lips. She sent me an apologetic look, and I felt my heart sink. She was not planning on keeping _anything _from them, and with what I had told her and Neville had no doubt filled her in on, she knew _everything,_ Mr. Riddle included. A part of me was grateful that I wouldn't have to tell them myself, but most of me was afraid they would either pity me, be disgusted, or want to talk about it with me.

A few minutes passed, and we couldn't really hear anything but faint murmurings until..."He did what?! I can't believe tha-" and then there was absolute silence. Apparently they finally remembered their privacy and silencing charms. It had been another forty minutes before the charms had been dropped and they started making their way back.

The room was awkwardly silent as Aunt Alice looked straight at me with watery eyes. Her torn expression told me of her battle against her maternal instinct that demanded she take me up into my arms, smother me with affection and then proceed to pull me away from every and anything that could possibly cause me any sort of discomfort. Uncle Frank, without further ado, strolled directly to my side, lifted me up, took my chair and set me on his lap. He somehow moved me, so that I would be cradled in his arms much like an infant.

"My brave brilliant beautiful baby girl," he cooed peppering loving, playful kisses from my hair to my face, making me giggle and try to swat him away.

"Uuuncle Fraank," I whined. Absently, I heard a pop, but I was a bit too preoccupied trying to swat my godfather's now tickling hands away from my sides.

"Unhand my beautiful, gracious angel princess you fiend," I heard Draco say in a dramatically serious voice.

"Looks like the fearsome dragon came to your rescue, baby girl," Uncle Frank murmured as he sat me up in his lap.

"We serves dinner now, Mistress Mia Miss?" Tillie chirped excitedly. I smiled remembering how the elves had nearly fainted from pleasure when I asked them to prepare dinner for a rather large number of guests. I went to reply, but I hadn't even finished say yes, when she popped away.

"I think we should each find a seat then," Uncle Frank chuckled, before placing me in my seat.

I laughed as Draco scrambled for the open seat at my right, before Uncle Frank could take it. Draco grinned smugly at the narrowed eyes Uncle Frank sent in his direction.

"I was going to sit next to my lovely wife anyways, you overgrown lizard," he sniffed haughtily.

Draco grinned even broader before pressing a kiss to my cheek, and then we were alone.

"Hi," he breathed into my ear.

"Hi," I replied automatically.

"Have I told you how absolutely enchanting you look when you laugh Mia?" he murmured.

"That depends on your definition of telling... is it the act of verbally communicating an idea or merely communicating said idea, with no regards to the medium of communication?"

"I love it when you talk nerdy to me, Mia, and for the record, it is not an idea. It is a fact that you look absolutely alluring when you laugh, smile, stare off into space, think, breathe, chew on your quill while you stare off into space as you think..." he trailed off dreamily.

I felt myself smile goofily, despite my rolling eyes.

"You're so cheesy, Dragon," I giggled.

"Ah, but you love it," he grinned, leaning in more. When had we started leaning in?

"Maybe, maybe not..."

"You wound me, my beautiful, gracious angel princess. Must you be so cruel?"

"Must you be so-so ir-irresistible?! Damn it!" I groaned, bumping my forehead to his in defeat.

"Irresistible? I rather like the sound of that," he grinned, before pressing a light kiss to my lips.

"Prat," I whispered pulling away from him.

"Aren't they just adorable," I heard Amy coo, and suddenly everyone reappeared. Where had they gone? Oh... we were in our little bubble weren't we?

"_Got it in one, Mia,"_ Draco's mental voice chuckled.

"_Git,"_ I thought blushing.

Luckily dinner decided to appear before anyone could start teasing or continue squealing and giggling . Thank Merlin for small miracles.

**-O-**

**Narrator's POV**

"Okay, so you want this to be headquarters for our own Order of the Phoenix?" Frank repeated slowly.

"Yes and no. We will have more of an association. Order implies that there will be a strict hierarchy with one person at the head and the rest being brainless followers. We are all in this together. There will be no information withheld without good reason," was Hermione's immediate response.

"And without good reason meaning without sufficient occlumency shields," Harry added matter-of-factly.

"So what's our-"

"Association name?" the twins asked with broad smiles.

"Guys, we're not going to give ourselves a name," Hermione groaned. "Now, focus. The meeting isn't over."

"But we need a name!" they protested.

"How about we come up with a good name later?" Bill proposed. They all nodded reluctantly.

"Alright then, you mentioned training. What would that consist of and who's going to be training who?" Alice asked.

"Well, er it would consist of magical combat, which would be taken by any and all adults that wanted to take up a lesson, physical conditioning and hand-to-hand combat, which would mostly be taken by Viktor and when he's away Tonks or Amy can take over, and er elemental train-"

"Okay, two points. Why is Viktor in charge of two sections of training single-handedly? Why in the world do you want to incorporate elemental training?"

"Well, Viktor is more than qualified for taking on both. I doubt anyone could do a better job," Hermione said cautiously, exchanging an uneasy glance with Viktor.

"And why would that be?" Remus asked curiously.

"No offense but professional quidditch doesn't really give you much qualifications for hand to hand combat, not if you play clean, of course," Sirius pointed out.

"That is very true, but that is not vhat divi tsvetya meant.. My family is varrior family, and is part of my inheritance," Viktor cut in.

"Inheritance?" Charlie asked curiously.

"Da, inheritance. I am not pure wizard. My family has proud history of varriors for da Royal Gryffin. Ve have been protectors for many years. It is vhat ve as Zmey are meant to do. I vas trained by father, like he vas before me. Ve have been trained for moment vhen da Royal Gryffin or one of his call for us."

"Um... I don't think I'm alone in this, so I'll come out and say it. What in the world is a Zmey?" Neville said after a few second of stunned silence.

"A Zmey is a male dragon with a human appearance. Viktor has a tail, and his lower body has scales that shine like gold. He also has wings. He actually mastered retracting those particular traits amazingly fast. Zmeys prefer milk, white bread and heavy wine, but of course they can consume other things."

"Da, I asked father about Zmey history dis summer. Zmey vere group of protectors sought to end terror of lamia. Da lamia vere a female draconic creature vith three dog heads. They terrorized villages vith their power. Villages offered sacrifices but da lamia became greedy. Da protectors came across lamia same day da Royal Gryffin vas going to take away da lamia's power. Da protectors fought off some of lamia, but lamia were beginning to vin, vhen Royal Gryffin stepped in. He saw protectors bravery and gave dem da power of lamia to become protector varriors. Da lamia vere ended dat day and da Zmey vere born. Ve are meant to protect. Ve are fierce and everyone dat could be Zmey go through training. Once come of age and determined if are Zmey, ve go through additional training to learn to use Zmey abilities."

"Alright, so you're definitely qualified, and whenever you're gone we'll have Amy and Tonks run through current auror drills and training so that time doesn't get wasted," Augusta settled.

"Now, the second part," Alice said expectantly.

"Well, the twins and err... Neville and... Hermione..." Harry tried to say awkwardly before trailing off sheepishly.

He looked at Hermione at a loss. How was he supposed to explain that one? Hermione rolled her eyes, before hurling a ball of fire towards Charlie. He just barely stopped it a couple of centimeters from his face. She then raised an eyebrow at the twins who immediately got the clue and rocketed the water in their water goblets toward Hermione who simply froze it, thawed it and sent it back to the goblets they had come from.

Hermione, then, cupped her hands. Her body took on an ethereal green glow as a small orchid grew from her hands. She stopped its growth just before its flowers could blossom. She caught Neville's eyes, who sighed heavily before walking to her.

"Just ask it to bloom Nev," Hermione whispered as she gently transferred the orchid into his hands.

Not a minute later, each closed blossom on the orchid opened, revealing startling fluorescent magenta middles and nearly glowing white petals. Neville beamed at the flower in his hands before turning and presenting it to his mother with a soft smile.

"It doesn't look like you need any training," Alice breathed, after a few moments of shocked silence.

At this the Weasley's, sans Arthur whom had yet to be released by St. Mungo's, and Fleur burst out laughing, remembering how they had barely been able to contain five minutes worth of Hermione's tantrum.

"Actually, Hermione's the only one that seems to be able to use her elemental abilities freely... She, I think, needs to see exactly how _much_ she _can _do, and we need her to teach us how to really use our abilities... we really only know how to do small things," Neville interjected once the others had calmed down enough so that he could actually be heard.

"So baby girl will be taking over the elemental training," Frank said unnecessarily, getting everyone back on track.

"If I may add... I suggest that fundamental healing, basic warding, mind magics and animagi training be added to the training curriculum," Filius suggested. He received nods all around.

"Poppy can take over healing. Filius and Augusta, I do believe you are particularly skilled with offensive words, you both can take over warding. Sirius and I can take over animagi studies. Tonks, Amelia... Tom you take magical combat... Alice, Frank you can join them once you're up to shape. Viktor, Amelia, Remus you can take conditioning and hand-to-hand combat," Minerva settled.

Percy, whom had been taking copious notes since the beginning, dutifully wrote everything down, making a note to organize schedules so that an equal amount of time be dedicated to each subject.

"Who will teach mind magics?" he asked distractedly.

"Mina and Dragon can do that... and Andromeda and Augusta can run dueling sessions on the side for skill assessment," Tom replied immediately. Percy nodded distractedly as he wrote that down, a small frown tugging at the sides of his mouth. How were they supposed to do all of this in a month?

"I..er... seriously doubt we'll have time to learn all of that... I mean, we only have one month!" Harry voiced Percy's worries.

"Ah, but we can _make_ time, aye lass?" Tom laughed, winking at Hermione who promptly blushed crimson.

"But we've only used it for two people.. We'd need at least ten more, and that's not counting the fact that Amy will probably want Susan here as well!" Hermione exclaimed.

"You still have the time turner!?" Minerva shrieked.

"Er... yes?"

"Never mind. Forget it. I don't want to know," she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Anyways, I have no plans of returning the time turner. It's what has allowed me to sneak out to the Wizengamot meetings, and it'll continue helping with that and more while at Hogwarts. As to only having one month, who says we only have a month? We will be continuing our training at Hogwarts," Hermione said primly.

"And I'm guessing you already have it all planned out?" Harry smirked.

"Perhaps..." Hermione smiled coyly.

"How about you just tell us exactly what your plan is, and at the end we'll give suggestions at the end, aye lass?" Papa Tommy suggested.

"Ooh you can start with your plans for Dumbledore, then the training, and then what you have on Voldemort!" Marlene squealed uncharacteristically girlishly. Everyone turned to look at her with raised eyebrows."What? She has the most brutal plans... and I, er, never eavesdropped on them, so I wouldn't know?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at Marlene's terrible attempts at lying, but was nonetheless pleased that her godmother/future mother-in-law was warming up to _her. _She and Draco shared a warm, happy smile before she began outlining her plans, beginning with what had been done and was already set in motion.

"...so we have Rita Skeeter as our connection to the media. We're having an interview of Harry's lie in the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow. That way people can overhear and interject with questions if they can't help themselves. The interview will be where the great, infallible, perfect Dumbledore will start seeming not as great or infallible. After the Potter interview, the plan is to follow it with an interview with the ever misunderstood and much aggrieved Sirius Black. That would start speculation on what else Dumbledore has been hiding behind that ridiculous long white beard of his. We will of course be using my story as a preview of how far Dumble's manipulations before Rita launches the book.

"At first, it'll seem as a book of redemption, trying to remind the world of Dumbledore's greatness, but in reality, it'll be the hail in the coffin for Dumbledore's reputation. That, if everything goes to plan, will strip him of his positions as Supreme Mugwump, Chief Warlock, and Headmaster of Hogwarts. Other than that and burning his skin off as my vines hold him down and encasing him in a sphere of scalding hot water until he drowns... I've got nothing else planned for him... or maybe I can freeze all the water in his body so that his internal organs burst..." Hermione trailed off with glazed eyes.

"She fantasizes 'bout this a lot, doesn't she?" Neville shuddered.

"You have no idea," Draco stage-whispered.

"Well she ain't the only one," Papa Tommy growled.

Everyone but Hermione, who was still in best-methods-of-torture-and-slow-death-land, shuddered at the mad, murderous glint in Tom's eyes. The McKinnon temper, of course, was a thing of legend, but seeing it just barely contained in the flesh was more than a bit frightening, and Draco was feeling more than a bit overwhelmed with all the uneasy vibes he was getting from everyone, which, in turn, drew Hermione out of la-la land. After a speculative look that no one noticed, Hermione cleared her throat, successfully drawing everyone's attention back to her.

"With Rita firmly on our side, it makes it a lot easier to draw Fudge to our side," Hermione began, only to be interrupted by giggling witches.

"Not that he needed to be drawn in," Andy snorted.

"I'd say Miss Carina McKinnon did that well enough all on her own, eh Mia?" Augusta teased.

"Charming people to do what I want them to do or to want to do things for me is not something I will be ashamed of," Hermione sniffed.

"And you shouldn't Min. We should all be bowing to your oh so gifted arse," Nym said with a straight-face.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, you should be," Hermione managed to say seriously before bursting out laughing. Tonks and the others promptly joined her, unable to resist.

"Alright, let's get back on track... Skeeter... Potter and Black interviews..Dumbledore book.. downfall...torturing and killing Dumbledore.." Hermione mused out loud, trying to remember where they were. "oh right! On to Voldemort," Hermione said brightly. "So far, we have him weakened because of the destroyed horocruxes.. He's actually mortal now, so anyone can kill him.

"He's obviously going to want to gather supporters, so we need to nip that in the bud. Of course, we all know that if the world knows that Voldy snorts had a muggle father, he won't be having any potential followers...if there happens to be a story about one Tom Marvolo Riddle and it is coincidentally pointed out that it is an anagram for 'I am Lord Voldemort,' it may just be crippling, don't you think? The only issue would be that he would be getting more and more desperate, meaning that we have to train and train and train."

"That's actually ingenious, unaggressive, and completely accurate," Augusta nodded, sounding slightly surprised.

"Why the tone of surprise, 'Gusta? I'm almost tempted to be offended..." Augusta snorted at that, and Hermione continued. "Anyways, I can only do so much with the Skeeter in the works, but it would be best if we could make as many changes to the Prophet as I'm planning to do at the ministry... to do that, of course, it means talking to Lucius. Did you know that the Potter and Malfoy lines were actually firmly entwined until a fallout for reasons unknown between Grandpa Charlus and Abraxus Malfoy?"

"You're going to try to reason with Malfoy?!" Sirius roared.

"Mia, you can't! He's not a good man," Draco sounded panicked. "He won't listen. He'll try to find the best, most cruel way to hurt you."

Andromeda quickly wiped away a stray tear, relieved that no one had seen. Well, or so she thought. Hermione had noticed, and knew that there was a lot more to the cruel bastard Lucius Malfoy she _knew of _because, if she were honest with herself, she had to admit that she really didn't know Lucius. She knew he could be terrible, and that she really wanted to hurt him because of how he had been to her Dragon. She also knew that he was an important member of the Death Eaters, but she didn't know if that was on his own merits or if the position had been inherited. Other than that, however, she knew nothing really.

"Those are actually very good points," Frank admitted. "I never would have considered the possibility that Lucius could have inherited his place in the Death Eaters..."

"Whatever. He's still an evil git," Harry, Draco, Sirius, Remus, and all the Weasley's said at once.

"There's depth to everyone you know," Hermione chided them. "Well.. maybe not Ron and Ginny, but they just seem to be thick..." Hermione added thoughtfully.

Everyone had a good laugh at that, and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief when they momentarily forgot about Lucius. Maybe that was a thing to do on the side with Andromeda and Frank knowing about it, since they actually seemed open to the idea. Frank gave Hermione a nod, showing her that they were on the same page, and he approved.

"Alright... now for the Hogwarts training plan. I think we should all have the disillusionment charm down so we can sneak into and out of the shrieking shack. I have a feeling that we'll have people joining into our Hogwarts training groups, but we'll divide into groups of two. Those two can turn a whole day and train with everyone who is available and isn't at Hogwarts. We'll take turns of course, and since we're turning, we won't be missing any classes and no one will notice that we were even gone. That way we'll have one or two day-long training sessions a week, and there's nothing against the rules saying that we cannot keep fit by running daily and practicing hand-to-hand combat," Hermione trailed off, and her eyes unfocused. "Actually, isn't there? Yes there is... that's worth looking into, actually... Uncle Frank... is the Longbottom family considered an Ancient and Noble House?"

"Er... yes, actually why?"

"Is the Weasley clan vassal to any House?" Hermione asked, instead of answering, her eyes still slightly unfocused.

"Uh, not that I know of..." Percy admitted sheepishly.

"We actually don't know. Dad is the only Weasley we know, and he never talked about much that wasn't muggle-related..." Bill admitted.

"Or about Mum, and if it was about Mum it would be how well she cooks or how well she manages the household..." Charlie added thoughtfully.

"Bloody hell, we should have realized something was wrong!" the twins said in unison.

Hermione shook her head, muttering to herself, trying to recall everything she could about the Weasley clan, but came up empty-handed. She really didn't know much about potential vassal families or any of the vassal families of other houses.

"We'll have to ask Mr. Weasley once he's given a clear bill of health... and that should be by next week...alright, sorry for going off on a tangent like that. I need to do some more research before I share my errant thought with you... not to mention that it would really only be a safeguard in case things don't go as smoothly as projected... Anyways, moving on to what's happening next week... Aunt Poppy made me question something, and Si-Uncle Sirius cleared it up for me, and I decided that I _will_ be claiming my position and Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter before the Wizengamot and Ministry of Magic this coming Tuesday. In sight of this, I will be needing a 'coming out ball' and I was hoping that some of you would... er.. _help _me with this... maybe?" Hermione started off confidently before getting progressively more and more awkward, until she reached the point of just above pathetic.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes!" Poppy squealed. "I was actually going to ask you if you would mind terribly if we could organize the whole thing for you... I mean it would have been the least I could do to start making up for freaking out on you, Mia. Oh I'm sooo excited! Come on ladies, we should start deciding on possible themes and colors and possible days. We should have a few abstract options before we bring Mia in to make some decisions!" Poppy gushed, dragging a miffed-looking Minerva with her.

Fleur, Marlene, Augusta, Andromeda, and Amelia followed after the two witches with equally excited and ecstatic expressions. Nym, although more subdued, followed them with an amused expression. She wasn't as girly as all of them, but she enjoyed dabbling in party planning as much as the next person. Hermione blinked slowly, trying to process what the hell had just happened, but wasn't having much luck.

"Close your mouth baby girl, you'll catch pixies," Frank chortled.

"Anyways, that was all really... so it was good that I waited until the end to say that... Er so, yeah.." Hermione trailed off awkwardly. She groaned, and sunk her head into her hands. "Someone make the awkward go away," she pouted, peaking through her hands at the wizards.

Draco grinned at her and cooed, "I can kiss it better Mia. Do you want me to kiss it better, my perfect, beautiful, gracious angel princess?" He waggled his eyebrows lecherously, smirking at her with that infuriating, smoldering smirk of his.

" .Such. ," Hermione growled, slapping his arm with each word.

"Ah but I did your bidding, oh Mia of mine," he grinned, grabbing her hand before she could get in another slap. He turned it in his hand, softly pressing a kiss to her palm.

"A kiss to the palm? Why Mr. Black, such a daring move," Hermione giggled, blushing. "What would the others think?"

"That you're disgustingly adorable,"

"And we wish we didn't have to see that?" The twins suggested brightly, but they could both see the hurt in their eyes.

"I-I'm sorry you guys, really... I didn't think... Hell, I didn't even..._know_ until a few days ago! I'm really so so sorry," the twins were trying to tell her she didn't need to apologize, that they knew that she couldn't help who she loved, and that it really wasn't her or Draco's fault they were all mushy. I don't mean to hurt you guys or rub it in your face or be insensible. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to. I'm sorry-"

"Baby girl, Hermione, stop," Frank said firmly, as he cradled her face in his hands, and forced her tearful eyes to meet his blue-green eyes. "You don't have to apologize for anything. You shouldn't feel like it's your fault that the twins are hurting. Now, why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying. I'm fine..." Hermione's hand went to her face, and her face suddenly scrunched up in confusion as she realized it was wet, and then the dam broke free. "S-stupid jacked up hormones!" Hermione sobbed, hiding her face in her hands.

"What is going on?" Fred whispered to the room, as they all stared at Hermione dumbfounded.

"Think it's that time of the month?" George whispered back.

"She's never been like this before though," Harry pointed out. "She was having mood swings in the morning, and she mentioned it, but still. Usually she gets a bit more irritable..." Harry pointed out.

"Yeah, she usually only adds in a scarier glare and a book slap, if you make her angry," Neville added, causing Hermione to sob louder. At this point, Frank decided to cradle Hermione onto his lap again. .

"That's because she doesn't usually have actual moods to swing around," Draco growled, glaring at the idiots that had made her cry even more.

"Um.. for those of us who are slower.. I mean not everyone shares a head with the brightest witch of the age... What does that mean exactly?" Sirius asked, confusion evident in his face. Draco wasn't going to explain, but as he looked around, he saw all the expectant faces and sighed.

"Before, she couldn't feel anything but the need to be wanted and needed and feeling like a strange, worthless person... I don't have that... talent. When I came into the picture, officially, I started changing that. It still wasn't to this degree, but after we first bonded, when she was trying to save us... well her fire abilities depend on her emotions... that's how they first re-manifested. When she's feeling protective, love, anger, not hate, or just passion in general... well it more than shook her up, and um when our connection ruptured she snapped... everything that she was not feeling, wouldn't let herself feel kind of just came up. Now think about the day she had that day. She had to deal with Aunt Poppy being a sobbing mess, Uncle Filius skirting her off to the Gringotts' healers, against her knowledge, she had to go through the _incident with Riddle_. She had to deal with Scrimgeour being an idiot, the whole horocrux situation, sealing the second stage of our bond, dealing with Skeeter, and she had to deal with the usual 'oh there you are!' shit she usually has to go through! Oh not to mention the talk we made her go through once Aunt Poppy got her wish and gave her a thorough check!

"We got her to feel, but she's not used to emotions and showing emotions and all that. She's not used to it, and she has to deal with all of the shit she went through and emotionally processing it instead of just ignoring that it happened because she doesn't have that bloody option anymore. Everybody knows now, and she has to deal with that too. Not to mention that she has to deal with _my _emotional overload too. I can't seem to _not_ transmit everything I'm receiving to her! If I'm off balance, she's a million times worse than I am!" Draco ranted.

"Alright... er I get the first part, but I don't get the your emotional overload and receiving part," Remus spoke up hesitantly.

"I.. I can feel what you guys feel... I think...Hermione's brain works too fast for me, but I think that was the main gist of her thoughts..."

"I-I think you might be able to project too," Hermione sniffed from Frank's arms.

"Are you alright, lass?" Tom asked uneasily.

"I won't spontaneously combust," Hermione giggled.

"I don't know why, but I'm not taking your word on that one," Tom chuckled.

"I'll be alright. I think it's time I got my first lesson, yeah?" Hermione smiled.

"First lesson?"

"For what?"

"What are you learning?"

"She vill be learning to fly," Viktor's amused voice halted the questioning to a full stop.

"What?"

"How?"

"She actually doesn't fly?"

"So she was being serious when she-"

"-Said she didn't fly?"

"Ti prosto ne mozhe da ustoi , mozhe li ?Tŭpak," Hermione glared at the now grinning Viktor. (You just couldn't help yourself could you? Jerk.)

"No, I never learned how to fly. I cleaned out the broom storage for a week and wrote a very thorough and detailed paper on the theory and history of flying, and she gave me the grade, alright?" Hermione huffed.

"Aw don't be like that Baby Girl, it's just that it's a bit hard to swallow. Back in the day, flying was mandatory."

"It still is," the Weasleys said in unison. All of them looking at her as if she were some bizarre, exotic animal.

"Whoa, you actually got Hooch to give you _special treatment_ without even having the Potter card to play?" Sirius exclaimed.

"Holy crap, she does have a gift... Hooch is one tough cookie even by Marauder standards... especially by Marauder standards!" Remus breathed.

"As lovely as you all are, I'll be going..." Hermione said, wiggling out of Frank's was already standing beside her by the time she managed to straighten up. With a grin, he grabbed ahold of her hand and dragged her outside.

"Don't they need a broom?" Neville asked, a confused look on his face.

"I'm sure they'll need one eventually, but she lost a bet and needs to pay up," Harry smirked.

...

"I do believe you owe me a snog, dear Mia of mine," Draco purred, smiling lopsidedly at her.

Hermione looked up at him through her thick eyelashes. A small smile pulled at her lips.

"You do know that your use of the pet phrase 'Mia of mine,' although certainly euphonious, is utterly superfluous, right?"

"Have I told you how much I love it when you talk nerdy to me," he breathed before his lips descended upon hers.

**A/N I hope y'all liked it and grammar/spelling errors didn't drive you insane. Anyways, please review! Oh and thanks for reading... **

Oh before I forget... I almost forgot. I have a few questions for you all, please answer through a review or PM.

**1\. Should Hermione and Draco be resorted?** (Since they will be attending Hogwarts under new names, this is a possibility)

**2\. Any name suggestions for the Potter Manor group/not-order/association?**

**3\. Animagus suggestions for Harry, Neville, Luna, Susan, and the Weasleys? **(I already know what I want Hermione and Draco to be.. I don't know if the older, non-animagi adults should become animagi too, but if you think that that's a good idea, send me some animagi ideas for them)

**4\. Should Arthur be the last Weasley (not counting his kids)?**

okay so if Arthur is not the last Weasley, I was thinking that Aunt Muriel could be the one that had been waiting for Arthur to return to his right state of mind so that he can officially be a Weasley again. The idea is better than it sounds, I promise!

**5\. Would you all mind terribly, if Lucius was actually nice? As in he's not evil but was misguided? **(I'm still going to keep the Lucius I have in mind, but I can make him be a bit more of an ass... so yeah)

**I think that's all I have right now... There might be more questions in the next chapter, if I forgot some, but yeah.. Oh, and don't forget that if you have any suggestions or something corny/funny that you want to read in the story just stick it in a review or PM and I'll try to incorporate it to the story. **


	27. Lessons and Morning Prank-Up Call

**A/N Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, and answered the question I had on the last (temporary) chapter. I greatly appreciated it, and thank you all who have followed/favorited and showed their support for my story, so yeah THANKS! I love y'all! :D **

**Okay, now time for my most sincere and heart-felt apologies. I'm soooo sorry it has taken this long for me to put this chapter up. At first it was me trying to have some chill time while still on vacation, and then it was getting to know the campus, then it was French being a pain in my ass and assigning a shit-load of homework and compositions, thus leading to a nearly never-ending writer's block. Again I am so sorry, and I'm really sorry if the chapter doesn't measure up to expectations, but the next one should have a lot more meat/substance.**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, so I shall not take any credit for that. However, the story line/plot **_**is **_**mine.**

* * *

**Draco's POV**

Fifteen minutes, fifteen glorious minutes of glorious snogging, and I was in heaven. Merlin, my girlfriend could kiss! I pulled away from her, only to see her licking her lips. I wanted nothing more than pull her in for another snog, but the wicked, wicked witch put a hand between our lips.

"Ah, ah, ahhh," she sang. "The wager was _one_ snog," she reminded me teasingly.

"You are one evil witch," I groaned bumping my forehead against hers. She smirked at me, and it had to be the sexiest thing I had ever seen.

"I know," she whispered tantalizingly against my lips, before cruelly and quite merrily skipping away.

"_You tease!" _I mentally growled, triggering her mental laughter. I narrowed my eyes at her retreating form as her amusement rang through my head. Oh she was so not getting away that easily.

"Where do you think you're going missy? You have a flying lesson tonight," I growled playfully as I pulled her into me.

"Do I now?" she asked toying with a button on my shirt. I could only nod in response as she looked up at me with twinkling eyes. "Then where's the broom?" she asked innocently, her eyes wide.

I frowned, her words processing in my mind. Where _was _the broom? Why hadn't we brought a broom out with us? Oh, right... I had been too busy anticipating the snog I had been promised. In retrospect, I probably should have had everything set up beforehand, but it is a bit too late now, and besides I wasn't about to complain about having to go get the bloody broomstick. It was totally worth it.

**Hermione's POV**

I had laughed loudly at him, when he had ran all the way inside the manor to get his hands on a broom for my blasted flying lessons, but I most definitely wasn't laughing now, and it wasn't even because I was freaking out about the whole flying thing. No, I was a bit too busy _trying_ to keep myself centered on the matter at hand.

"Alright, so put your hand above the broom, and try to feel it's magic reaching out for yours. Close your eyes, Mia... Do you feel it?" his warm breath brushed against my skin.

How the hell was I supposed to focus on anything but _**him**_, when he was standing so close behind me. I could feel the heat of his body rolling onto mine. How the hell was I supposed to concentrate on anything else but his smooth, soft, firm hands leading mine to hover directly above the broomstick.

I closed my eyes, and steeled myself against the urge of turning around and snogging him until his eyes crossed. Gods, it just felt so _good._ Our intermingling magic was positively euphoric. I took a deep breath and shoved the feeling aside. Now was _so _not the moment to indulge in the sensations that my dragon evoked.

Soon enough, having pushed the rather aphrodisiac feel of our magic aside, I could actually _feel _the broomstick below my hand. Merlin, it felt _nice, _soft and light and... _airy._ That was the only way I could describe it. It was like having the wind at my beck and call, just awaiting my first order. With less than an actual thought, I had the broom in my hand.

"That was great Mia. Before you mount it, just remember tilt up to go higher, down to go lower, lean in to go faster, lean out to slow down, shifting right moves you to the right and shift left for left," he instructed, his breath tickling my ear.

He stepped back just as I nodded, _finally _giving me just enough space to actually think. The second I mounted the broomstick, all thoughts fled my mind. I just wanted to _fly_, be up in the air and be free and _soar_. Not a second later, the warm wind was blowing through my hair, caressing every inch of uncovered skin.

Merlin, it felt so _magical_. How had I not flown before? I mean, my Buckbeak experience obviously did not count. During the flight up to the tower, I had still been recovering from the dementors, and during the flight down I was the third person cramped onto that poor Hippogriff, so no. I was not counting that experience as an actual flight experience. How could it be?

This was so _different. _I was _free._ Laughing, I soared through the darkening skies, and let myself get lost in the sensation. I grinned at the rush of adrenaline I would get every time I did a loop or pulled down into a steep dive. How had I gone without flying for so long? It was at least another hour before I decided it was time to touch back down.

I couldn't help but giggle when my Dragon, beaming, swooped me into his arms the second I touched down. Before I could even begin to catch my breath, his lips caught mine in a heated kiss that left me craving for more. Much to my disappointment, it seemed he was keen on depriving me of his oh so wonderfully soft and warm lips.

"Damn it Mia, you just had to ruin everything didn't you," he tried to pout, but failed quite miserably to smother his grin. "Do you know how bloody sexy you look when you're flying?" he murmured into my ear, nipping it lightly.

"At least half as sexy as you do when you're flying," I breathed back, pressing a lingering kiss to his lips.

"I knew it. It's your fault you know," he accused.

"My fault? What's my fault?"

"Yep, it's all your fault. How could I possibly concentrate on catching the snitch knowing you, my beautiful Mia, were watching my every move?" he smirked. "It's your fault I could never beat Wonder Boy," he concluded, smirking.

"Because your place on the team being bought had nothing to do with it," I quipped, causing him to glare at me.

"I'll have you know I made the team just fine. It was the seeker position that required a bit more convincing," he said haughtily.

"Oh really?"

"Yes, actually. I made chaser, but of course I _had _to be seeker because Harry Potter was seeker," he grumbled bitterly.

"If it's worth anything, I think you made a great seeker, and I think you'll make an even better chaser... Now, I demand a reward for being such a wonderful, brilliant student. You mister are to carry me inside and cuddle with me."

"Am I now?"

"Yep," I grinned.

-O-

**Narrator's POV**

Hermione tossed and turned restlessly. She had slept a grand total of three hours, and now she just couldn't fall back asleep. She had never ever had this much trouble sleeping! Well... that was a bit of an exaggeration. She had had more than her fair share of restless nights at Hogwarts, but this was a different kind of restlessness. During Hogwarts, she was restless because her body was so used to the schedule she had gotten it accustomed to.

The past week she had been so busy and/or drugged up that she would sleep through the whole night. She huffed frustrated, sitting up on her bed. What was the point of just lying there. It was cold and empty anyways. She groaned as her brain kicked into full throttle.

They just had to tell her that Draco was going to stay at Malfoy Manor until Sirius went to get him from the Malfoys, didn't they? When had they even had a chance to talk it over? Honestly, she was just getting into a healthy sleeping routine, and they just had to mess that up and make her feel like shite in the process, didn't they? Couldn't they have at least not told her in front of everyone, where she couldn't even react outwardly? Or try to discuss it rationally?

She sighed. She really didn't like having things sprung up like that. She hadn't had a chance to mentally prepare for it during the day, and now she felt all glum and sad and _depressed_, and she wanted to yell and scream and just _cry_ and then drift off into sleep. She rolled her eyes at herself. This was ridiculous. Soulmate or not, he was _just a boy_, and she was not about to be one of those needy, clingy, overdramatic, overly dependent girls that would waste away if they weren't with their 'other half'.

What she needed was to not think about Draco, not think about how utterly crushing it had been to have them just announce that he was going away in front of everyone and just leaving... just like that, no goodbye, just a 'see you all later'. What she needed was a good laugh. She needed to do something fun and mischievous. She smirked as she thought of the prank that would liven up her day, not cause too much trouble, and keep her busy enough to not miss Draco...the 'too much' went unsaid.

Seeing as she wasn't going to be getting any more sleep, it was only fair that the others suffer with her, wasn't it? With a grin, she noted that it was already three thirty. Perfect timing, she thought smiling widely. She had time to prepare some coffee, tea and juice before unleashing her innovative, but oh so amusing, waking system. Smirking, Hermione slunk to her room's window, and propped it open.

The vines, which decorated the sides of the manor, crawled into her room. Stealthily, the vines crawled under the doors of every occupied room. At Hermione's order, they stopped at the foot of each occupied bed. With green-glowing, mischievous eyes Hermione silently made her way to the kitchens to prepare the compilation of drinks that would appease the grouchiness and hostility she would be dealing with in just a few minutes.

It was just past four o'clock when Hermione finished neatly arranging the coffee, tea, and assorted juices on the kitchen table. It was at this moment that the vines that had been resting at the foot of the bed reached out and grabbed the ankles those in the bed and jerked them up into the air.

"Hermione Rhea Potter!" was the only discernible phrase amidst the cursing. Hermione grinned as she amplified her voice to make the wake up call.

"Good morning! It's a beautiful day here in Potter Manor. The sun is on the rise and so are you! You're very welcome. Now get dressed for our morning run. Coffee, tea, and juice are awaiting!" she cried cheerfully, as she instructed the vines to gently lower their hostages onto the floor.

No less than three minutes later, the assaulted magicals were creeping up behind the seemingly unsuspecting tea-drinking Hermione. Hermione, however, had obviously been expecting retribution for her _tiny_ prank. She had actually gotten rather skilled at sensing the fire around her, and at a time like this it really came in handy. The second she felt them closing in on her, she decided to nip any attempts at catching her off guard in the bud.

"Good morning. Lucky it's just us, huh? In retrospect, I don't think Papa Tommy, Uncle Fili, Aunts Minnie, Poppy, and Alice, or Amy and Gusta would have appreciated it," Hermione said sweetly, as she turned to look at their raised wands with a raised eyebrow. Hermione only smirked as they all blushed and awkwardly chuckled as they hastily put away their wands. "There's drinks so you can all get a proper pick me up, before we start our run."

"When Viktor said early morning, I don't think he meant well before dawn, baby girl," Frank grumbled.

"Da," Viktor yawned.

"Well there's no time like the present. Now we have even more time to do everything else we have to do," Hermione said brightly, taking another sip of her tea. "Now, drink up. We should be up and running by a quarter 'til five."

"Does she not sleep?" Sirius grumbled to no one in particular.

"No, not really," Harry and Neville sighed. Hermione narrowed her eyes at the two, when this prompted Remus, Sirius, Frank, and Nym turned to her with worried frowns.

"I'm used to getting up really early," Hermione shrugged.

"Why?" Frank asked slowly.

"It made my day significantly better. If I finished having everything on spot, I actually got to take a shower and get a chance to get out of the house before they woke up. Now, is everybody ready?" Hermione chirped, downing her tea.

They were all frowning slightly, but decided it really wasn't worth a discussion. She didn't look bothered or sad or anything, so they decided to just get on with the day, and plan some form of retribution for the cruel wake up call.

-...-

It was a sweaty, red-faced, out-of-breath bunch that made it back to the Manor a little over an hour later. Viktor and Charlie chuckled as they watched the others drag themselves upstairs to their perspective rooms for a much needed shower.

Hermione was in a conundrum. She frowned as she looked at the few pieces of clothing (rags, now, really) that she had been transfiguring into different outfits for a little over two years now. Apparently, the two months of extra transfigurations had worn them out. She had planned on buying replacements before she left the Grangers, but had completely forgotten... until now that is. The clothes didn't look like they would last the entire day, regardless of the transfiguration. She didn't have access to the closet-full of robes and gala dresses that Tom had gotten her for the Wizengamot, and she had never tried conjuring clothes, so didn't know how that would go. What if the spell wore off mid-day? That would be simply mortifying.

She sighed heavily as she went to look through her trunk. She bit her lip as she confirmed what she had already known. The only wearable clothes she had were her Hogwarts uniform, and she couldn't transfigure those into something else. She knew, she had tried. A pillowcase it would be then, she thought to herself.

After a few moments of thought, she realized that with the training they would be doing, the probability of her "clothes" getting hit with a _finite incantatem_ was pretty big. She would have to make sure that the pillowcase covered her completely and _then _transfigure it. With well-placed cutting and sticking charms, two pillowcases became a shabby makeshift dress. One transfiguration later, she had a pretty, flowing, white sundress.

Hermione smiled at her reflection, satisfied with her pillow dress, before leaving her room. She bumped into Harry, who was sporting his usual attire of overlarge T-shirts and jeans. Hermione furrowed her eyebrows at him, just realizing that he never bothered to magically alter his clothes. He could use magic without getting into any trouble with the ministry at the Manor, and his clothes were in a more than good enough condition for transfigurations and size modifications. Why did he let those _beasts_ hold that over him?

"What's wrong 'Mione?" Harry asked confused, when he saw his sister frowning at him.

His face paled when he saw her wand pointed directly at him. He closed his eyes, as if not seeing the spell fly out of her wand would make it hurt any less. After a good fifteen seconds of not feeling any pain, he cracked an eye open only to see her smirking at him. He looked down at himself and found that the only thing that seemed "off" was his outfit. It actually looked good. It didn't look new-new, but didn't look like a hand-me-down and it actually fit. Harry grinned at his sister, who rolled her eyes at him.

"Why didn't you just do that yourself in the first place, Harry?" she sighed tiredly.

"Huh?"

"It's a simple transfiguration, and you can do magic here. Actually... why didn't you just do it at Hogwarts too? You couldn't get in trouble, and your clothes are made of good enough material to last you at least a full year of transfigurations a piece," Hermione went on, much to the confusion of her brother.

"Wait, what?"

"Your clothes. You could have easily transfigured them into something more fitting. Your clothes although big and second-hand, are actually good quality, so you wouldn't have any issues with them," Hermione exclaimed.

A look of realization dawned on Harry's face, causing Hermione to face-palm, realizing that he had never thought about it. She took deep breaths trying to calm herself, but seriously?!

"You hated the fact that you had to look like a beggar, but didn't even think to do anything about it!? Are you _kidding _me? Sizing charms and the transfiguration work was at second year level, Harry!" she hissed, trying and failing to keep her voice down.

"Well we can't all be like you Hermione! How the hell was I supposed to know?" Harry snapped.

"It's something called _reading_! And it was actually something that was mentioned in the first year transfiguration textbook! Why would you _let them_ have that power over you!?" Hermione ended up shrieking the last part.

"It's not like I asked to have it hang over me!" Harry exploded at her.

They hadn't noticed that their little conversation had attracted attention, but considering the fact that they were having it in the middle of the hallway, they really should have expected it.

"Alright! That's enough you two!" Sirius cut in, laughing nervously. The magic in the air was making the Potters' hair get more wild and everybody else's hairs on their neck stand on edge. Hermione closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and her hair deflated slightly, causing most of the tension in the room to disappear.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't mean to blow up like that. It just pisses me off," Hermione sighed.

"What? That I wasn't smart enough to look into magical clothes alterations?" Harry growled, his eyes glowing green.

"No! It bloody pisses me off that you had to go through that shit with _our own blood_. It pisses me the _fuck _off that Dumbledore played all his cards so _buggering _well that he had you like a perfect, defenseless, little pawn, so _sodding _pliable to his whims that you never even _thought _about helping yourself!" Hermione growled, her hair glowing bright red, her eyes a bright gold.

"Well excuse me for being so stupid and falling for it all!" he snarled. "We can't be as perfect as you!"

"Oh, come off it, you bloody _arse_! I am _far _from perfect. We can all agree that I'm a fucked up _mess_, and for the record I wasn't pissed at _you_, you bloody _idiot_! I was pissed off on _your _buggering account, so you can stop giving me your death glare Harry James Potter!" Hermione hissed coldly, her magic making her seem a lot taller than everybody else in the room, despite most definitely being the shortest. Harry's head bowed and with it his magic.

"M'sorry 'Mione... M'not very good with controlling my temper," Harry mumbled.

"Yeah..." Hermione sighed, before giggling madly. At everyone's questioning gazes, she explained. "Oh, I just realized that that was the Black eccentricity mixing with the Potter outspokenness. Grandpa Char and Grandma Dorea must have had their hands full with dad," Hermione chuckled her eyes sad, but filled with fondness.

"You have no idea Baby Girl," Frank laughed, hugging her soothingly. "Now, let's go have some breakfast before we start on Mr. Weasley's schedule, alright?" The catalyst of the Potter spat was completely forgotten when the twins started bowing and kowtowing to the oh so powerful Potter siblings.

They all hurried off to breakfast, suddenly feeling absolutely famished after the run. As they ate, everyone happily noted that Hermione had managed to eat three-quarters of a full serving of food. Once everybody had finished eating and Hermione took her nourishment potion, they went over the schedule.

**Morning Run before breakfast**

**Breakfast (end at 8:30)**

**Healing (8:45-9:45)**

**Warding (9:50-10:50)**

**animagus training (10:55-11:55)**

**lunch (12:00-12:55)**

**Mind Magics (13:00-14:00)**

**Magical Combat (14:05-15:05)**

**Hand-to-hand (15:10-16:10)**

**elemental magics/nature spells (16:15-17:15)**

**Supper (17:25-18:25)**

**Creative Transfiguration/Charms (18:30-19:15)**

**Recreational time &amp; sleep**

"Alright well we're about an hour ahead of schedule... so what should we do?" Hermione sighed, noting the time.

"Name the group!" the twins chimed excitedly.

"No." Hermione said flatly, but the twins ignored her and started rattling off names.

"Oooh how about Pretty Potter's People-

-Mia's Mariner's

-Order of the Gryffin

-Gryffin's Order-"

" . .Order. We are not a pompous, self-inflated, self-righteous organization. So we-"

"The Kitty's got claws association," Sirius snickered to Frank who only rolled his eyes at the other man's childishness.

"That's it! Gryffin's Claws. We're the Gryffin's Claws!" George beamed happily as Fred declared it perfectly suiting. Hermione glared at their smiling faces.

"George, Fred, you two are far from stupid, so why can't you under-"

"That's actually a good name," Nym said slowly, cautiously, not wanting to unleash Mia's temper on herself.

"It doesn't make us sound like a pompous organization," Neville added in an attempt to placate Hermione.

"Yeah, it sounds like we're a cool ninja group!" Harry piped up, a bright grin on his face.

Hermione took a deep breath as she looked to the heavens as if asking for patience. She knew she wasn't going to win the argument. In all reality, having a name wouldn't _really _change anything, and she supposed that 'The Gryffin's Claws' did sound more like a club/crew name and not organization-like, even though talons would be more adequate than claws, but, whatever, she wasn't going to bother bringing up the technicalities lest they think she supported the idea of having a name.

"Fine. We're 'The Gryffin's Claws,'" Hermione sighed. "Now, how about we do an impromptu duel type thing for an hour. We can do a free for all melee type thing or since we have seven pairs and an hour to waste, we can have four minute, one-on-one duels," Hermione suggested distractedly. The rest of them exchanged mischievous, calculating looks as Hermione mentally arranged the order of the duels and who would be set up against whom.

"Free-for-all!" the twins grinned excitedly.

"If we do duels some of us would be on the sidelines doing nothing," Nym interjected before Hermione could say anything, not that she was going to do so.

"Alright, to the training room then," Hermione smiled, a bit confused by their eagerness but not thinking much on it.

Behind her, the whole lot of them were planning what they would be doing for their retribution. Funny outfit transfigurations, hair and skin color charms, and jelly-leg hexes were seeming the most adequate to the schemers. Hermione, regretfully, hadn't even thought about any possible retribution after their failed attempt this morning, so was trying to sort the spells she knew into 'good to use,' 'passable,' and 'don't use in case everyone freaks out' categories. Considering her Uncle Frank and Nym were aurors, she didn't think they would take too well to any shady spells accidentally slipping out of her wand.

As Hermione set up the charm that would sound 5 minutes before they were due to start their Healing lessons, the rest decided to unleash their diabolical plan the second the timer went off, as it would distract Hermione for a split second, and that split second would be their window.

...

Neville grimaced slightly as his overpowered disarming spell nicked Harry on the side and threw him to the side a few feet and nearly destroyed the dummy that had caught most of the spell. His magic seemed to just flow out of his new wand. Apparently, according to his dad and Mr. Ollivander, the wand that he had been using was still loyal to Frank, and that was why his wand work had been lacking. In his distraction, the twins pegged Neville with the tickling charm and a jelly legs hex, successfully bringing the boy to the ground before he cast a couple _finites _on himself and jumped into the melee once more.

Hermione grinned slightly as she happily noted that all the self-studying and 'training' she had done the previous year were truly showing. Harry, Neville and the twins' spells were slowly losing speed as they weren't used to used to casting spells for such prolonged periods of time. Hermione tried to neatly dodge the spell she saw coming towards her, but felt another spell stick her feet in place. She ended up falling unceremoniously onto the ground face first.

Hermione received a stinging hex to the arse just before she sent up a rather obscure shielding orb around her form. Hermione internally scoffed at the term obscure. It was only considered obscure because it would absorb the magic of the spells that hit it, and an additional fraction of the caster's magic with each spell.

The particular spell she had used had been taken out of commision when someone held the orb long enough to drain their attacker of all their magic. Incidentally, the attacker had been a pureblood of high standing, but of course according to the books that had nothing to do with it. The spell was dark because it stole magic. Hermione huffed annoyed as she hurriedly unstuck her from the floor, stood and dispelled the orb, and returned to the melee.

Frank observed the younger witches and wizards each time he had a chance. Tonks, he noted, relied on stealth and whenever she couldn't evade, she was always ready with a rather strong shield. The twins were the perfect team. When needed, one would shield, while the other took the offensive. They used spells creatively and did not seem to favor any one area of magic over another. Sirius, as he remembered, was nifty with employing transfiguration in 'battle,' meanwhile Remus was just as handy with charms.

Hermione, his baby girl, however, was quite the surprise. He could tell she was holding herself back, but _what _she was holding back he wasn't sure. She evaded gracefully enough, but lacked the speed that Harry and Nymphadora had. He also noticed that her repertoire went beyond standard fifth year, which really surprised him, since she had yet to enter her fifth year. She used some spells that he didn't recognize and others that he would term gray-ish. He was curious as to how much, exactly, she knew. She was very talented magically and had obviously applied herself academically. He could see why Neville said that she was the Brightest Witch of the Age, but she was still very much rough around the edges. From what he could gather, considering how much longer her spell strength lasted, she actually practiced spell casting on her own, but had not had any experience in going against others, unlike Harry.

Harry looked like he had practical experience but was lacking in magical knowledge. Neville needed both, but for now was taking advantage of his newfound power. He knew that he would be up to speed soon, however,especially now that he had some confidence.

Suddenly, the alarm rang, and, as predicted, Hermione froze, startled by the sound. Apparently, that was all they needed to get their spells in. In half a second her hair was twisted into green and purple spotted horns, her transfigured pillowcase dress had been transfigured into a disgusting jumpsuit that looked as if a rainbow had decided to vomit, explode and have a bout of diarrhea on it. As if that weren't enough someone had turned her skin highlighter yellow, conjured some birds to annoyingly fly around my head, and sent a tickling charm and jelly leg hex her way.

After a split second of silence as they took in their handiwork now on the floor shaking, tears trailing down her cheeks. Everybody but Frank and Sirius burst into raucous laughter. Frank and Sirius couldn't be sure but her face, in their eyes,resembled more of a grimace than a humored expression. And they seriously doubted that she was only crying from how hard she was laughing. They certainly hadn't thought that _everybody_ was going to send a different spell hurling towards her. They watched as she closed her eyes and pointed the wand at her side and then her legs, effectively countering the tickling charm and jelly leg hex. She stood shakily and laughed a bit, the sound infinitely more strained and false.

"Guess you got me, huh," she said with a slightly strained voice. They all grimaced a bit as they started seeing what Frank and Sirius had initially seen.

"Haha, yeah.. not to worry though Min, we'll fix it in a jiffy," Tonks said in a falsely cheerful voice, remorse eating at her insides.

"No, no I can fix it myself," Hermione hurriedly assured them.

"No, we'll do it!" Bill said hurriedly, feeling terrible for what they had all done.

"N-" Several uttered 'finite incantatems' cut her off. Hermione instantly felt all the enchantments on her person fall away, her transfigurations from the morning included. The gasps of shock made her shrink into herself, and she once more closed her eyes and wondered if it could possibly get any worse.

"Rhea, what are you wearing?" Hermione heard Marlene ask from behind her, a hint of disgust in her tone.

'_And it got worse,' _Hermione groaned internally.

"Who the hell did this to Mina?" Tom roared as he saw his granddaughter standing there, dressed in a pillowcase, looking as if she wanted the ground to swallow her whole.

"God fucking damn it," Hermione cursed. Viktor and Fleur cringed when they heard her curse, and visibly flinched when they saw her whole posture and face change. The mask was back on. She turned and looked at the recently arrived group with a beaming smile.

"Oh, it was just a bit of transfiguration practice. No biggie," Hermione smiled, waving her wand over the pillowcase dress. "See? All good," she laughed, skipping over to hug and kiss Tom.

The group that still had their wands out looked at each other confused. She had been mortified and crying just a second ago, and now she was all peppy and her eyes shining with mirth and joy. Tom looked at Sirius, trying to get some information from him, but he could only shake his head. He didn't know what had just happened.

Frank blinked dazedly, trying to make sense of what had just happened. He saw that she had been ready to die of embarrassment when her outfit had turned into pillowcases. Then, her whole demeanor suddenly changed, brushed the incident off, and turned into a bundle of joy and thing that was bothering Frank was that both her mortification and mirth seemed unequivocally genuine. The last thing that just didn't add up was that he didn't see a finite hit her clothes when she changed them back to what she had been wearing.

Unknown to him, Alice had also made the same final observation. With a slight frown and furrowed brows, Alice pointed her wand at Hermione and sent a silent finite her way. Hermione tensed in her Papa Tommy's arms when she once more felt the transfiguration fall away. She went to replace the transfiguration with a flick of her wand but Andromeda disarmed her before she could.

"Hey!" Hermione protested.

"Would you care to explain why you are wearing pillowcases?" Andromeda asked, not bothering to apologize for having disarmed her.

"Would whoever messed with my clothes care to explain why they did?" Hermione countered, her now glowing eyes narrowed.

"I didn't mess with anything," Alice said softly. She shrank back slightly at Tom's accusatory gaze, and Hermione's swirling magic that was slowly getting out of control for a second time in the day. "I just cast a finite, and that happened," she finished meekly.

Hermione's magic swallowed her whole, and, with a dramatic flash, the pillowcase was once more a dress, but this time it was forest green with a bodice with bronze colored lace tying it in the back and a skirt that went to just above her knee. Everybody looked on with incredulous eyes as Hermione's magic extended through the room, almost as if daring anyone to dare voice any objections.

"I'll be having my wand back now," Hermione's magic imbued voice hissed softly, as once again her magic reached out a snatched her wand from Andromeda's hands. Once she had her wand in hand, Hermione blinked shocked and unbelievingly before running out of the practice room.

What the hell had that been? Hermione and everybody wondered. While Hermione was once taken aback and scared of how her magic had once again lashed out, everybody else was amazed by her raw magic. Without a word to anyone she decided it was about time that she went to Ragnok. Harry felt Hermione leave the wards, but decided not to say anything until someone asked. She needed to be alone. A lot had happened this summer and he seriously doubted she'd taken any time to process it.

_... ten minutes later, Potter Manor sans Hermione..._

"Was it just me, or was that _accidental magic_?" asked Percy in a strangled voice.

"Yes," was Remus's still dazed reply.

"But she's _fifteen_," Percy protested.

"Hey! I did accidental magic when I was thirteen! It's not weird... is it?" Harry spoke up.

"You're not supposed to have accidental magic after you turn eleven," Bill answered mechanically.

"Well, that's only for boring, normal people," Fred offered.

"-and the Potters don't seem to do normal," George finished.

"Besides, she's recently soul bound and broke the bonds that Dumbledore had on her magic," Nym interjected

"If you think about it, it's surprising that her magic hasn't lashed out earlier," Neville added.

"Shows how much control she has on herself," Frank mused. "Just like Draco said... she buries it... she doesn't let herself feel... she intellectually knows it's okay to feel and that she doesn't need to be on the defensive, but her magic isn't there yet... her magic is protecting her, so it lashes out when her emotions are more... _strained._" Hearing this, everybody realised how much sense it made. Her magic was what had kept her alive, and because of her supernatural connection/natural affinity to all things magic, her magic was very much sentient. It was an extension of her, the part that watched out _for her_, no one else. The rest of her was too selfless to actively look out for herself, so her magic took care of that. It was the part of her that took care of her.

"Potters just don't do normal, do they?" Charlie chuckled, breaking the contemplative air that had settled in the room.

"Nope," Harry grinned, popping the p.

"Sooo about her dress..." Poppy said awkwardly, trying to get to what was bothering her.

"Seriously?" Minerva said exasperated, glaring at her friend.

"What? She transfigured the pillowcases she was wearing into a dress twice in our presence, and, from what I can gather, she had had it transfigured since the morning..." Poppy protested.

"So?" Amelia huffed.

"Am I the only one wondering why she did that in the first place?!" Poppy snapped, exasperated.

"Maybe she didn't one of her dresses to get ruined during our training?" Neville suggested, making the Weasleys, Viktor, Fleur, and Tonks nod in agreement. Harry, on the other hand, looked as if he had been slapped in the face, the realization hitting him like a truck.

"But... if they didn't feed her, and from what I've been told about how they raised her... would she really have that many clothes? Has she mentioned anything about that? Have you noticed anything?" Frank brought up.

"Well, at Hogwarts she always seemed to have a decent amount of muggle clothes whenever she wasn't wearing her uniform... they were a bit generic, but they fit her well and seemed to be in good condition..." Minerva said.

"When she was with me, she always wore some jeans and a plain shirt or on the rare occasion a dress," Tom said slowly. "She looked well dressed..."

"She was abused her whole life. She's worked hard for years to get out of there. I seriously doubt that those _things_ bought her large amounts of clothes that actually fit her," Alice spat, seething at the thought that a child had gone through the horrific things that she had. Not only that, but apparently both of her dear friend's children seemed to have been cursed to an upbringing that no human being deserved. She swore to herself that the monsters that had done this to her godson and her honorary niece would pay dearly.

"But how would she know how to transfigure clothes? It's not in the Hogwarts curriculum," Marlene cut in.

"Marls, she's _earned _the title of 'Brightest Witch of the Age,'" Sirius reminded her, his voice a bit sharp. "She's brilliant. Don't underestimate her."

"She said it was mentioned in the second year transfiguration book..." Harry offered quietly.

"Well, yes it's _**mentioned **__once_, but it never goes into any sorts of detail," Minerva admitted.

"Wasn't second year when she stopped wearing her uniform all the time?" Neville asked the twins quietly, but everyone heard.

"Sh-she's been transfiguring her clothes for _years?" _Marlene gasped horrified. "Her clothes must be in tatters!"

"It was very clever of her to use pillowcases, they are much more durable than normal clothes, especially if they are not of very good quality to begin with," Filius mused.

"Yes, yes, very clever, but what are we going to _do _about it?" Poppy tutted exasperated.

"Nothing, you will do nothing," Harry cut in firmly. "She's upset enough with us knowing what she's gone through. She will not take well to any more interference. Can we just start with the training. We've already wasted enough time. I'll talk with her, if it makes you all feel any better."

He wasn't about to let them verbally attack Hermione or berate her for this. They had no right to expect her to open up completely to them. She had no reason to lower her defenses so readily, and he understood that they wouldn't be coming down immediately. It would take time, reassurance, and they needed to not deter the process. And so it was with a solemn nod that Poppy got to her lessons.

**-O-**

**Hermione's POV**

_...Gringotts, Ragnok's Office..._

"You have nothing to worry about Tywysoges Mia," Ragnok kindly assured me once I had unloaded every single one of my fears and feeling on him.

"Are you sure?" I sniffled. I had started crying at one point, but Ragnok had said nothing and merely handed me a tissue.

"Positive. The fact that you are afraid of all the power you hold only serves as confirmation. You wouldn't use your power to harm people, only to execute justice, and being blessed by the Royal Creature only enhanced that. You, like He, are powerful, fierce, protective and just. It is your responsibility to protect fiercely and to use your power to punish justly and rule with fairness, just as it is His," he responded sagely.

I felt my face drain. So many expectations, how was I supposed to do it? I didn't even have _that_ much political power. Sure the Potters were an Ancient and Noble House, but I was only a _temporary _Head of House. While the House of Potter was both Patriarchal and Matriarchal, the House of Black was not. Even if I ended up running for Minister, I wouldn't have enough political say to make huge changes. Maybe if I was somehow also heiress to a noble and/or ancient matriarchal line...

As if reading my mind, Ragnok said, "As is customary with those who are of the last of their line, you and your brother are due for a lineage and inheritance test. If you could bring your brother as soon as possible, we could get it out of the way. I do believe there will be quite a few surprises for the two of you."

"Would you have time for us around 7:30 this evening?"

"I suppose we could make it an after-hours appointment," Ragnok consented ruefully.

"Thank you, Ragnok... for everything," I said gratefully.

"It was a pleasure Tywysoges. Until this evening," Ragnok said, as I left his office.

I took a deep breath, before squaring my shoulders and stepping into Gringotts' floo, and heading over to Potter Manor. The second I stepped out of the fireplace, I came face to face with ashen-faced, worried out of their minds Uncles Frank and Sirius. Suddenly, I felt a bucket-full of guilt wash over me. I was so used to no one caring for or noticing me that I didn't even bother to leave a note or tell Tilly that I would be going to Gringotts in case anyone asked. With a breathed 'Baby Girl' and 'Angel' respectively, they took me into their arms, holding me tightly.

"I'm sorry. I should have told you where I went to, but I didn't think," I mumbled into Uncle Sirius's shoulder.

"It's alright. You were only gone for an hour and half. You have half an hour to do some explaining missy," Frank said with stern kindness.

**-O-**

**Narrator's POV**

"You could have come to us... you know that, right Angel?" Sirius asked softly, taking Hermione from where she had been cradled on Frank's lap and onto his own.

Hermione stiffened slightly, before settling in on his lap. It didn't feel as strange as it would have days before. Now that they had both cleared the slate and set their minds to honoring their uncle/niece bond, things were going really well, and Hermione was starting to actually feel comfortable with him.

"Intellectually I know that... but I'm not used to going to the adults in my life for anything. The closest adults in my life were Mr. and Mrs. Richards. They cared about me because I cared for their little angels. I'm still trying to fathom the fact that adults can and do care about me just because I'm me," Hermione said just as softly.

"You'll get used to it, oh so great one. You just have to keep trying," Sirius teased, caressing Hermione's hair soothingly. "Alright, enough of all this Sirius business. Wouldn't want to start thinking the world revolves around me, now would we?" Sirius joked, causing Frank and Hermione to groan. "Aw come on, that was a classic!" he protested.

"No, that was a seriously terrible pun, Uncle Sirius," Hermione giggled.

"Anyways, you and Harry are planning on doing the test around 7:30, and flooing right back, right?" Frank asked, bringing them back to the subject at hand.

"Well, not exactly," Hermione said, biting her lip. "I was actually thinking that it was time Harry got a new wardrobe..."

"So you'll be sticking to Diagon Alley so you can floo back then," said Sirius siriusly. **(yes, I had to do that.)**

"Er.. no. I was planning on going to Gringotts, muggle London, and then back to the Leaky Cauldron to floo back."

"Wow, I don't think I've gone to muggle London in _years_!" Frank exclaimed, making Hermione giggle. He hadn't left the hospital in years, of course he hadn't been to muggle London in years! Sirius tried to look as if he had just come up with a marvelous idea, but Hermione could practically feel what was coming, and was trying with all her might to not laugh at how terribly transparent they were.

"Oh, here's an idea what if your wonderful, dashing, incredibly fun-"

"-incredibly overprotective, former auror, caring, and terribly obvious uncles come along?" Hermione cut in slyly, interrupting Sirius.

"See, I knew she'd see it our way, Frank!" Sirius beamed.

"Fine," Hermione huffed in mock annoyance. "But you two are carrying the bags and helping Harry with his wardrobe."

"Should we get one of the girls to come along and help too?" Frank asked.

"Why? I'm sure you two can handle it. There shouldn't be too many bags," Hermione said confused.

"Well, Angel, we are both male and don't know much about the current female trends..." Sirius said awkwardly, "and we certainly wouldn't be able to help you with your underthings."

"Oh, that's not going to be an issue. I'm not getting a wardrobe for myself," Hermione snorted lightly.

"What? Why not?" asked a fully flummoxed Frank.

"Because that would be wasteful of me," Hermione replied slowly, looking at him as if he were suffering of momentary intellectual incapacitation.

"That's crazy Angel! You've been transfiguring your clothes this whole time!" Sirius protested, questioning his almost-daughter-in-law's sanity.

"Yes, and that's why I'll get a couple of shirts and jeans and continue doing so," Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"You can't do that!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Yes I can!" Hermione answered stubbornly, feeling her temper starting to flare.

Luckily Frank also saw this, and knew that they were both victims to the Black family dog headedness. They were both starting to get riled up, and that was bound to transform into a rather nasty fight. He gave Sirius a sharp glare.

"Baby Girl, I know you're capable of transfiguring your clothes marvelously, what we're trying to say is that you don't _have_ to do that anymore. Why do you feel the need to transfigure a couple clothes into different clothes everyday, when you can just buy the outfits?"Hermione sighed, and deflated a bit. She knew those were valid points, but they were _missing the point._

"Uncle Siri... am I heavier than when you first carried me?" she asked in a small voice, momentarily making the men break out of the discussion/debate mode their minds were set on.

"Er... I don't know if this is a trick question, but yes?" Sirius answered uncertainly.

"Do you think I'm the same size as I was when you first saw me?"

"Well... er no? You've er... filled out a bit," was his hesitant reply.

"Considering I've only just recently started an intensive nourishment potion regimen and am being fed until I burst regularly, do you honestly think I'll be even close to the same size by the end of this month?" Hermione questioned, lifting an imperious eyebrow.

"Well no," this time it was Frank who answered.

"See? So what's the point of buying a ton of clothes that will just go to waste? There just isn't. Harry might have a growth spurt by the time we need to get to Hogwarts, but if he does it's because he's meant to have one, not because he's playing catch-up. We'll just update his wardrobe, and we won't need to get him an entirely new one as would be the case with me," Hermione finished logically, completely destroying any case that they could have come up with.

"Fine, no wardrobe for you until a couple days before Hogwarts," Frank sighed.

"Deal, now let's go. We just have ten minutes 'til animagus training," Hermione said happily.

"Aren't you worried about what you missed in healing and warding?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Well.. er. I know some basic magical healing stuff, since Harry spends so much time getting injured, and I'm pretty good at emergency muggle healing since... well yeah...the whole babysitting thing. You have to know CPR you know, and knowing how to stop bleeding and set bones is always good to know...And I've studied a bit about warding for some Rune side projects, so I don't think I'll be too far behind. Besides, I'll be going tomorrow, so it shouldn't be too bad," Hermione rambled as she made her way to the training room.

"Rhea." Hermione immediately stopped talking. Her Uncle Frank _**never**_ called her Rhea.

"Did I.. upset you Uncle Frank?" Hermione squeaked, her whole body tensing involuntarily.

"No, no, nothing like that Baby Girl," he said softly. "It's just I noticed something while we were in the melee earlier." Hermione paled, remembering the shield orb she had used.

"Haha, did you?" Hermione laughed, while internally preparing herself for shit to hit the fan.

"Yes...and it made me wonder how much...do you know?" Frank asked, not knowing how to phrase the question.

"Not as much as I need to know?" she answered utterly confused by his question. Was it some kind of trick question?

"No, it's just. I saw you used some fifth year spells, and you looked like you were holding back _something_, and hell you used one or two spells that _I_ didn't even recognize! Not to mention it looked like you practice regularly!"

"Oh.. um well... er...I usually stay _at least_ a year ahead in the curriculum, so I've gone through the whole fifth year curriculum...and yeah..." Hermione said awkwardly.

"But what abou-"

"Oh look there's Harry, I'll tell him about the test!" Hermione exclaimed, cutting Frank off, and all but barreling towards Harry.

"She's hiding something," both Frank and Sirius said out loud as they stared at Hermione with narrowed, speculative eyes.

_/slight time jump/_

Frank was nearly bursting at the seams by the time Dinner was over. He had been watching Hermione closely throughout every part of the training and had ended up with loads more questions than answers. Although she was in Harry's and Neville's year, she was closer to the twins' level, and they were going into their seventh year! There were, of course, a few spells that she didn't know, but even seeing her repertoire of sixth year spell knowledge, he could still see that she knew a fair more than she let on. It was only two questions that were driving him spare: Why did she feel that she had to hide her knowledge? and What is it she knows that she does not want us to know that she knows?

_/ another slight time jump/_

"No bloody way!" both Potters exclaimed in unison as they saw the results of the line and inheritance with widened eyes. It took Hermione a grand total of three seconds to get her wits about her once more, and a deep breath to ensure she could talk without babbling.

"Okay... so I am regent for the strictly patriarchal, Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Peverell, Gryffindor and Slytherin, which House of Potter conquered through our actions of Halloween 1981, until Harry turns sixteen, since I've been emancipated as Head of House Potter until the time of my marriage?" At Ragnok's nod, she continued. "In addition to that, through my early emancipation, I am eligible to take up the headship of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Ravenclaw and La Fay, both of which are strictly matriarchal?"

"Got it in one," Ragnok grinned.

He had known that the Potter line had descendants in the Peverell and Gryffindor lines and since both lines had become dormant... well it was self-explanatory really. He had suspected that House Potter had gained House Slytherin through conquest, Ravenclaw and La Fay, however, had been a very pleasant surprise. It seemed that Tywysoges Mia was not only royalty amongst the Creatures but also amongst Magicals.

"Merlin's balls!" Sirius cursed. ,

"If you accept your statuses as heir and head/regent respectively, you will hold a grand total of six seats in the Wizengamot and four in the International Confederation of Wizards," Frank breathed amazed.

Hermione's eyes widened slightly at the implications of what that would mean. Her hazel eyes hardened with resolved before speaking a most life-changing oath.

"I, Hermione Rhea Potter, by blood and magic claim and accept my place as head of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Ravenclaw and La Fey and accept my status as regent of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin and the Ancient and Noble House of Peverell until their heir and my brother, Harry James Potter, reaches the age of 16, so mote it be," Hermione intoned, her voice layered with magic.

With a flash of bright light, an elegant simple tiara decorated with diamonds and sapphires adorned the top of her head, an elegant black necklace graced her neck, and three other rings appeared before her and with a low glow, morphed into one rather large ring with three main jewels. Promptly the ring took its place beside the Potter ring.

"Well, as you can see neither House Ravenclaw or House La Fey use House rings. No one can remove the necklace or tiara-"

"-But they can _accommodate_ what I'm wearing by activating the appropriate enchantments and they will morph into subtle yet very much visible magical tattoos whenever the actual relics might be _inconvenient,_ like sleeping and showering, but will...er... _reappear _automatically,"' Hermione interrupted, her voice dazed, as her unfocused eyes seemed to be seeing something only she could see.

"Precisely," Ragnok grinned, very much pleased to see how the Tywysoges having such a deep connection with magic that she could actually _understand _it. She would probably be able to _converse_ with Hogwarts once she returned to Her.

"Wow, that's wow," Harry breathed amazed.

"I know! Dumbledore's going to have such a fit!" Sirius grinned, practically salivating at the thought.

"Not if we can help it.. at least not yet," Hermione rolled her eyes at her uncle. "We don't want him actively against us just yet Uncle Siri, you know that. Even once we get dirt on him, we need to handle him very carefully. Timing my _resurging memories_ and making it believable is going to be a right pain in the arse," Hermione grumbled. "Actually... in the middle of the interview might be a good time to have a bit of a relapse... but it'd have to _after _the Wizengamot... but that's only a few days away... yes... that should work..." she planned distractedly, making Ragnok smirk gleefully at his Tywysoges's deviousness. A fine princess to the goblins, she was.

... _shopping in Muggle London..._

"Mione... er... shouldn't you be getting more?"

"No. This is what I'm getting for now."

"Er... but what about... er.. your... er knickers?" Harry whispered awkwardly, completely mortified. "Er... I mean I had hand me downs and they've just barely lasted all these years... but... er... don't girls... er need a bit more th-"

"Harry, please stop talking," Hermione groaned, blushing bright red. "Knickers aren't hard to transfigure from any scrap of cloth and bras aren't much more of a challenge...I haven't really need of anything at the moment. I'll be getting an actual wardrobe of my own once the nutrition potions and the extra food and all the training do their job, alright?"

"Promise you'll get one before Hogwarts, even if you're still filling out?"

"Yes, now go bother Uncle Siri and make him carry all your stuff for making you do his dirty work," Hermione shooed him away, making Harry chuckle.

Harry, happy to have gotten away without a slap to the head or any other form of bodily harm, grinning made his way to the fitting rooms, throwing the new pile of clothes Hermione had picked out for him to try on at Sirius.

* * *

**Again soooo sooo sorry it took me forever to get this uploaded. The quarter is almost over, however, so French won't be an issue in a few weeks time. **

**Any who, please, please, please review! **

Y'all can expect at least Umbridge's trial in the next chapter. ^_^


	28. A Trial, A Tiff, and A Triumph

**A/N Hello all! So like I started this the Sunday before the week prior to finals week, last quarter... and I'm barely getting it out now. I know, shame on me, shame on my cow, and shame on my whole family :P (for those of you who think it sounds familiar, it's from Mulan). Anyways, in all seriousness, I am so very sorry for the ridiculous wait on this chapter, and sorry it isn't some ridiculously long 20k word chapter... I'm really sorry, and I thank all of you who have reviewed, it has really truly motivated me. I won't be replying to your reviews this time because I kind of semi sorta feel like it's waaay too late, but I will mention you all at the end, and tag an extra thank you at the end! ^_^**

**Any who, please enjoy the chapter. I hope you all like it and please review! **

**Draco's POV**

These past few days had been hell. Mia had closed off our mental connection. Even though I could still feel her on the other side, I couldn't communicate with her at all. I should have known it would have been hell to get her to forgive me, but I hadn't thought that she would have agreed with my decision to come back to Malfoy Manor given how Lucius tended to treat me.

Then again, he had been behaving rather odd recently. He seemed to be in a complete and utter daze, as if he were floating through life nowadays. Then again, Severus hadn't come over as he usually did... He was most likely just as bored out of his wits as I am, especially with mother having gone to France for heaven knows what.

**Lucius's POV**

It was another of those moments of clarity, and I could tell that something was...off, out of place, but I couldn't seem to bring myself to care enough. Time no longer had notion, there were no tastes, no pain, no hunger, no colors. Everything seemed hazy, all the same monotonous color, and I couldn't bring myself to care. The boy, Draco, I think, if I remember correctly we didn't change his first name, seemed to be miserable, but as much as a small part of me wanted to do something for him, I just couldn't bring myself to care enough to do anything. Speaking of Draco... hadn't he had black hair when Narcissa had been hell-bent on keeping him? He had been so tiny then, a beautiful , energetic, mischievous little boy, so obviously of Black blood, so much like my Andy. When had he grown? When had we grown? It didn't matter, not really. Time didn't exist... Why didn't it exist again? Right, didn't matter. Nothin... felt noth...

-And back into the darkness it was...

**Umbridge's POV**

I truly had to admire the ease with which Lady McKinnon, well Lady Potter-Ravenclaw-LaFey now, took hold of the room and explained the teensy tiny unforeseen happening of her familial origins. She had truly risen above and deserved the status her name and blood despite her deplorable upbringing with those _creatures. _The only thing I was wishing for at the moment was a chance to ask for a morsel of pity and forgiveness. Of course, the fact that it had turned out that I had violated the rights of her best friend and brother stacked the odds against me. As it was, I had no chance to even start setting up a defense, and seeing that she would be leading the case against me, quite regretfully, my allegiance would have to be set against her, and if the non-twinkling glint in Old Dumbledore's eyes was anything to go by, I would be working on his side from now on. Well... as long as it would prove beneficial to me. Maybe I'd eventually be able to jump ship to the Lady's side, maybe...

**Dumbledore's POV**

"...Lord McKinnon had suspected of and felt our familial connection, and so assumed me to be and claimed me as his long lost niece Carina McKinnon; however, once our suspicions that there had indeed been tampering with mind magics were confirmed, we knew we could leave no room for uncertainty. It was quite a shock to us all when our Goblin allies in Gringotts said that I was not his long lost niece, but rather his granddaughter, first-born of his adopted daughter Lily Potter nee Evans, and so it is before you that I, Hermione Rhea Potter, present myself and accept my positions as Head of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Ravenclaw and La Fey, Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, and Regent to the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Gryffindor, Slytherin and Peverell..."

I was sure the rotten brat had much more to say, but I did not hear another word. This was never supposed to have happened. She was supposed to have died, or at least lost all of her magic, but that had obviously not happened. She wasn't supposed to have been able to go to Hogwarts, but that obviously didn't go to plan. She wasn't supposed to have befriended her brother. She wasn't supposed to have become someone noteworthy, but before her first year had ended she had already made a name for herself, and disposing of her would have been a lot harder to do without arising suspicion.

Nothing went to plan when it came to that wretched girl. Her brother always was a pain in the royal arse, but he was absolutely nothing when compared to her. She went against every single one of my plans, albeit unknowingly, but she would simply not succumb to anything! The damn girl was a cockroach. Nothing broke the damn pest. Nothing just _ended _her. She just wouldn't disappear, and it was getting oh so tiresome.

**Marlene's POV**

I had said I wanted to be the moral support, but, really, I only wanted to see how well she carried herself in the real world, out on the field. If I were being honest with myself, I would admit how terrible I had been to judge her without knowing her at all and how much I owed her an apology, but I wasn't a words kind of person. I no longer had any reason to not radically change my attitude towards Hermione, and after seeing how easily she was able to turn a simple case of the violation a scion's rights into a full-out inquiry about shady doings or outright abusive practices, I could admit she was awe-inspiring, and deserved every bit of the respect and trust she was given.

I struggled to contain my glee as the toad-like woman was forbidden to ever hold any position in the ministry and charged quite hefty fines before she could even have a chance to utter a single word in protest, not that it seemed she was going to. In any case, it seemed she was slobbering all over Rhea in awe of the way she could maneuver herself around pureblood politics with such finesse.

**Hermione's POV**

I was more than satisfied by how everything had turned out at the Wizengamot meeting. That toad woman had been dirtier than I had thought. Who did she think she was to limit and restrict my people like that!? They were magical beings too, magical creatures or not, she had no right to oppress them so. It was because of bigoted arses like her that the wizarding world was so gullible and in such a vulnerable state. Then, people like Voldemort and Dumbledore come along and they are powerless to stop them or even see through their ploys until it is much too late. Pathetic.

"You will regret this, Lady Potter," Umbridge muttered under her breath. It would have been more threatening if she managed to not look impressed, but I knew well enough to not dismiss her completely. Considering all she had managed to fuck up and weasel into, I knew she was a crafty little bitch. Yes, I would keep a close eye on this Dolores Jane Umbridge. She was much too slimy to let her slip under the radar.

"Lady Potter?" Lucius asked sounding completely confused.

"Yes, father. Don't you want to have a word with Lady Potter?" Draco pressed, and I could practically see him pulling on Lucius's sleeve trying to drag him over to me.

"Who? Why, what?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. Why did he sound so... distracted? That was completely unlike the Lucius Malfoy that I had gotten to know thus far. With how convoluted things were, I couldn't afford to not investigate this myself, no matter how much Uncle Sirius wouldn't like it, and how much I did not want to see Draco right now. I glided over to the two blonds.

"Lord Malfoy, a pleasure to see you once more," I smiled charmingly at him, extending my hand for him to kiss.

I eyed him with concern when I saw his glazed eyes stare at my hand detachedly for a few seconds before he proceeded to follow the social conduct required of people of our stations.

"You seem a bit distracted Lord Malfoy. Are you feeling well?"

"I am terribly sorry Lady Dore-"

"Lucius," I heard Uncle Sirius snarl from behind me.

Shit. He's definitely not happy. Nope, not happy at all. Oops...

"Lord Malfoy, it would be a pleasure to have you over for tea tomorrow perhaps, when you are feeling better?"

"Why don't you come over, Lady Potter?" Draco burst in. I glared at the git. Honestly, I had made it more than clear that I did not want to talk to the idiot.

"Draco, that would be most inappropriate," Lucius tutted softly. I almost smiled at Lucius in gratitude. "Unless, of course, Lord Black were to accompany you. He is more than welcome to," Lucius smiled placidly. Bastard. Blugh, I did not want to deal with Draco just yet.

"We'll be there," was Uncle Sirius's annoyed reply, before he all but dragged me away. "What the fu-"

"Oh, Minister Fudge! Hello, how are you? Are you ready to go?" I cut Uncle Sirius off, all but latching myself onto the poor minister of magic.

"Oh, y-yes of c-course!" he stuttered.

...QUITE A FEW MINUTES INTO THEIR MEETING/LUNCH...

**Narrator's POV**

"I must apologize once more. I never imagined what a foul woman that Umbridge was," bumbled Fudge for the hundredth time.

"MINISTER! Please! Stop! You've been apologizing nonstop, and if that is all you want to go off about, then you are more welcome to do that, but my time will not be wasted in such a manner. Now, unless you are finished, I WILL be taking my leave," Hermione snarled, not able to take any more of his garble. Sleep had been scarce ever since her relationship with Draco had crumbled to its current state, well more scarce than its usual scarcity. As a result she had upped her extracurricular studies and her temper was not in a state to tolerate such buffoonery.

At her outburst his mouth snapped firmly shut. Thankfully, no blush rose to his cheeks, or else his shocked, wide-eyed expression would have looked positively ridiculous. As it was, however, he did not look idiotic and it took no more than a couple minutes for Fudge to regain his composure, showing Hermione that his being minister may not have been entirely accidental on his behalf. Maybe he would remain minister for longer than she had originally thought. He had possibilities.

"I apologize for my behavior, Lady Potter, or would you prefer Lady Ravenclaw-LaFey, milady?" he asked charmingly. He most definitely was redeemable. He just needed some training up, and he'd make a decent, if not good, minister.

"Lady Potter is fine, thank you." I replied with a gentle smile. "Now minister, I must thank you for all you have done for mine. I had honestly expected a huge fight with the authorities to get Uncle Sirius's name cleared."

"It was no problem. If I am being honest, well as honest as a politician can be, it was not entirely selfless on my behalf," he admitted sheepishly. Hermione's tinkering laugh, caused the minister to blush lightly.

"Minister, you are, as you said a politician, I expected nothing less. Now, you made your move, tell me minister, what had you expected?" Hermione asked coyly, her hands playing with the glass in front of her.

"To be honest, I hadn't thought further than getting to meet with the most charismatic and cunning Lady Mia McKinnon," he grinned.

"You flatter me Minister, but your words are those of a politician," Hermione said with a slight giggle, before allowing a chill-inducing smirk to appear on her face momentarily, before continuing conversationally. "You see, it is rather clear that your actions were meant to ingratiate you to the new face in the Wizengamot. This individual seemed to be rather gifted at swaying both the masses and fellow colleagues, thus making it quite evident that the game, which had laid stagnant for so many years, would imminently face an irrevocable change of play. Minister Fudge, you, I believe, want to be in the good graces of such an individual. You, _need_ the support, the favor I could sway to your side, especially with Uncle Sirius having spent twelve years in Azkaban despite his innocence, and that's not to mention the bomb that Voldemort's return is," she finished with a beautiful, cold smile, uncaring of the fact that her monologue had left Fudge quite uncomfortable.

"Uhum, well," Fudge coughed uncomfortably. Hermione continued smiling dispassionately, letting him squirm for a bit longer.

"Oh, Minister, honestly, there's no need for all of this nonsense roundabout politics between us, seeing as they're not as roundabout nor as inconspicuous as one would hope for," Hermione admonished, smiling cheekily at the minister.

"Are you proposing the white gloves come off, milady?"

"Minister, I have yet to treat you with white gloves. I am much ashamed to say I have adopted an embarrassingly brazen conduct when it comes to you minister. However, I cannot bring myself to regret it, for it would make for a much more healthy rapport, don't you think?"

"Milady, I believe that an... open and honest relationship would be... refreshing and beneficial indeed," the minister replied, unsure if he was being played.

"Oh, that is truly a relief to hear. I was ever so frightened that you would find me too forward," Hermione smiled happily. "Seeing as we are in accord, I beg you address me as Hermione, when in private, Minister."

"It would be an honor, milady, but only if you address me as Cornelius," Fudge smiled, a truly charming smile.

"An honor, Cornelius," Hermione purred, making the older man blush and preen under her attention, before shaking his head clear.

"You really ought to be careful young lady," Cornelius Fudge admonished Hermione lightly, knowing the trouble her looks and grace could get her into, regardless of the innocence of her flirtations. "The attentions of a lady, always has an effect on the male populace, but the attention of a lady with beauty, charms, and wit of your calibre can make a man do very stupid and very dangerous things," he warned her sternly.

"I can take care of myself well enough, Cornelius, but I thank you for your concern. Now, I believe we have some masses to endear to you, do we not?" Hermione smiled, touched by the older man's concern.

"How will I be able to cove-"

"Oh no, stop right there Cornelius. You can't possibly try to cover anything up. Everything comes to light eventually, and considering the gravity of all the issues at hand, the smallest of them coming to light would ruin your reputation irredeemably. You would be out of the ministry and possibly, most probably, lynched before you could open your mouth and plea for mercy!" Hermione exclaimed cutting him off.

"What would you suggest then, dear?" Cornelius sighed tiredly.

"Saying the truth of course... well, bending it a bit, but coming out with the truth in the end." Hermione took Cornelius's raised eyebrows as a sign to continue, and continue she did. "Well, in addressing the whole Umbridge situation, we could emphasize the fact that it was you who administered her punishment, and you who pushed for her hearing. Obviously, the Minister of Magic could not know everything that his undersecretary was up to, especially considering the shambles the ministry is in. After all, it is a herculean task to rectify and restore a ministry that has been in shambles for so long.

"Following that string, we move onto the Black case. The resolution and resulting full pardon and compensation for Sirius Black was the first step in a radical attempt to restructure the ministry, which is quite evidently, and much to our shame, in quite a deplorable condition. He was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Finally, you, have decided that enough is enough. It is time for change. It is time for strength and unity. It is time to give our system of justice the power to do their job, the means to protect the people, and all things and resources necessary to do so will be provided. However, before this happens, given the sadly, sickening state of the ministry, a systematic reevaluation of its members, beginning with the law enforcement department will be taking place. Along with a readjustment of budget, for there is a very real, and very big threat out there. It has recently, and irrefutably been proven that the self-acclaimed Lord Voldemort, originally known as Tom Riddle, is indeed back and gaining strength. However, unlike years past, there will be a strong ministry, along with a united peoples, standing against him. For the support and faith of the people is what gives a government its power." Hermione blinked, realizing she had gotten a bit carried away with what she had meant to be a small spiel. She took a second to get back to on track. "It will be your government, Cornelius, that will make the changes necessary to take action to protect its people and eliminate any and all threats to the populace, regardless of their magnitude."

Cornelius smiled at the redheaded beauty in front of him. She had quite a way with words. Describing her manner of speech as 'persuasive' would be doing a disservice, but his vocabulary had no words that could provide an adequate description.

"Hermione, you've really thought this through, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"And you realize the magnitude of what you are asking me to do?"

"I recognize that what I ask is great, but, is that not what all Man with power wishes to do?" Hermione asked, taking on a patient, dogmatic tone. "It is not impossible nor is it out of your reach. It may seem a bit drastic, but as the adage goes desperate-,"

"-times, call for desperate measures," Minister Cornelius Fudge finished, with an unbelieving smile. "I cannot believ-Actually, I can believe that I am actually going through with your plan, but I can't believe exactly how high you shoot, Hermione."

"Well, I'm glad you've agreed to this all because this gives you time to make your announcements before Harry and Sirius's interviews in three days times... Actually, I do believe I had booked you a meeting with Rita tomorrow in the afternoon. I cleared the time with your secretary, so you don't have to worry about clearing up your schedule, and all three of the interviews will probably go out on the same paper, so it can have the greatest impact," Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"You truly don't do things half-wittedly, do you?" he chuckled shaking his head.

**Hermione's POV**

"Mia, do you have any idea how worried I've been?" Uncle Frank asked he checked me over before pulling me into a tight, almost suffocating hug. "That idiot came back hours ago raving about Lucius. When I asked him about you he just said you left! Can you believe him!" he ranted, squishing me even harder.

"Yes, yes and you kicked his arse for it, now unhand me granddaughter," Tom laughed, pulling his Mina into his arms. "Now, Mina, how'd it go?"

"It went better than I hoped. Cornelius isn't that bad, actually! I think we'll actually keep him around. He's really sweet too. He even escorted me to a secure floo! And he's actually quite charming. I can definitely see how he got to be minister," Hermione said happily.

"You know, if Draco were here, he'd be bursting from jealousy?" Uncle Sirius drawled from behind me.

"And nothing would make me happier. The little bugger should suffer. Inconsiderate arse, but at least his leaving had _some _purpose," I said annoyed. "You and I have a nice invite for tea tomorrow at Malfoy Manor. We should tell Aunt Poppy to be ready to get a good look at Lucius, something was off about him."

"Everything is off about that bastard," Sirius growled.

"Oh please Uncle Sirius, what _exactly _is your problem with him?" I demanded raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well, he's just-, and he just-, he's-" he spluttered angrily.

"Thought so," I smirked triumphantly. "The fact that Daddy didn't like him because of whatever happened between Grandpa Charlus and Abraxas Malfoy does not give you a right to hold a grudge against the poor man," I sniffed.

"Poor my arse. Besides, don't you care about how he's treated Draco anymore?" Uncle Sirius grumbled childishly.

"Of course I care about what he's gone through. _However, _we will go over there, mostly, because there is a possibility that he's not as terrible as we think, _but _even if he is not 'innocent,' for lack of a better word, we need to make sure he is well enough to assessor me. Besides, that won't be a problem anymore, will it? You're going to get him from the Malfoy's anyways, so I don't see a problem," I shrugged.

"You are infuriatingly stubborn, you know that right?" Uncle Sirius groaned.

"I am well aware of the downsides of having Black blood, yes," I sniffed, before sashaying away to the library.

**Frank's POV**

"Ugh, I really hate her smarts sometimes," Sirius grumbled. "She counters every argument I can possibly bring up, before I even think them all up!"

"Stop your whining. She doesn't care about how much you don't like Lucius, and because of Draco just up and leaving, she isn't caring much about his arguments against Lucius either," I told him, already getting a headache from his incessant moaning and whining.

"It's not like he left without saying goodbye, though! I would've thought she would have gotten over it by now," Sirius grumbled. "You should have seen her today. She completely ignored him!"

"Yes, well, he should have told her before he up n' lef' in front o' e'ryone. That was jus' plain stupid o' him. Their bond's still fresh, he shoulda thought about the hell that woulda brought upon them. 'Sides, he's suppose 'ta convince 'er to accept his courtship formally, not convince 'er that they're no' ready ta take that step. Honestly," Tom scoffed, rolling his eyes at his grandson's faux pas.

"Wait! So their separation is actually hurting them, like physically?" Sirius asked dumbly. Honestly, the man could be brilliant at times, but sometimes he was just embarrassingly slow and short-sighted.

"Yes, Sirius. Their bond suffered a terrible attack when it wasn't even a full day old, and then they haven't spent more than a full day together. Not to mention the fact that from what I heard from Poppy they were supposed to be spending full nights together with as much skin contact as possible to fully stabilize their power and connection. So yes, they are being physically affected by the distance, even if Hermione doesn't let it show," I answered slowly, trying not to yell at him. After all, it wasn't his fault he could be so stupid.

"Oh," Sirius said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Merlin!" I groaned, hurrying out of the room before I tried to jump-start his brain cells with force.

...

"Alright, I think we've done well with the theory of the transformation. I think you're all ready to start the meditations," I heard Minerva tell them proudly, as I passed the Animagus training room.

Curious, I decided to turn around and look in on the lesson. The first meditating sessions had been the hardest part of the whole animagus process.. not to mention how utterly amusing it would be to watch a room full of teenagers trying to concentrate and stay still long enough to clear their mind and find their inner creatures.

To my surprise, it took Hermione as long as it took her to close her eyes to fall into a calm state, her breathing deep and slow. The twins were practically shaking with energy to burn, until they were sitting as close to each other as physically possible, silently vibrating and twitching in place. Harry and Neville had lasted a good two minutes without moving, eyes closed, before they started peeking. It was hilarious seeing them twitch, and try not to laugh at the nearly bursting twins. Hermione, on the other hand, spent a full eight minutes in a state of complete calm before her hair and hands flamed up. It took less than a second before her face contorted with rage, causing the fire on her person to flare dangerously. My eyes widened in panic. This could prove to be disastrous very very fast. Without a thought, I put up the strongest shield I could come up with, protecting the rest of those in the room. It was for nought, however, as the vines lining the windows outside, snaked inside, coiling around her middle, and working their way up to her face and hair, gently caressing her, calming her.

After quite a few deep breaths, Hermione's still enraged eyes snapped open. I, along with the rest of us in the room scrambled back, surprised by the raw ferocity of her demeanor. We all looked at each other awkwardly, wondering who would be the true Gryffindor in the room and ask her what had upset her.

"Mia?" the twins asked nervously.

"Just for the record, I am going to hang him by his ankles until the asshole begs for forgiveness. How dare he?! He thinks he can just waltz into my fucking mind. Well, no siree. Maybe I will start gallivanting with older men, they at least seem to be more considerate and chivalrous than him," my baby girl spat, starting to shake with rage.

"Err, I'm guessing that He is Draco?" Harry said awkwardly. Hermione turned a furious glare his way, before taking a deep breath and pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Yes, and he's going to have a shit of a time getting me to forgive him, let alone accept his fucking courtship!" Hermione hissed, obviously utterly pissed, before her expression morphed into one more akin to hurt. I moved to comfort her, but before I could take a step in her direction, she ran out of the room. Minerva immediately shifted and took off after her. I went to follow her but halted to a stop when something Neville said, caught my attention.

"Today's the last day, isn't it?"

"I think it so..." "Yes, no, maybe?" the twins answered unsure.

"I don't think that's the issue guys," Harry sighed, running his hand through his hair. "She's been testy since Mal-_Draco _left... Do any of you know if she's been sleeping at all?" he asked them worriedly.

"Why do you assume we would know?" one of the twins asked testily.

"Because you guys care about her and pay a lot of attention to her. I wouldn't be asking if I knew. I've been too beat to notice whether she's up and about in the middle of the night, so I was hoping one of you would know."

"I don't know Harry... I've been knocking out the second I hit the bed," I heard Neville admit shamefully.

"Same here," the twins sighed in unison.

I shook my head in disbelief. Did they have a Hermione watch or something? She would be incensed if she knew they were hovering so. Although I understood where they were coming from, so much had happened to her, and they hadn't known, they hadn't been able to protect her, and now, they felt the need to be on edge, at the ready at all times, to help her with anything and everything, and prevent anything else hurting, harming, upsetting or even irritating her. It was noble of them, truly, but it would only end up with them suffocating Hermione, and that was could not be good at all.

**Hermione's POV**

I closed my eyes and immediately withdrew into my mind, wandering through the now complete mindscape I shared with Draco. I had been so distracted, wandering around, familiarizing myself with the layout of our minds, that I hadn't realized he was there with me. At least, not until I started to relive my day starting with the talk with Lucius.

"_How could you?" _I hissed at Draco, when I finally managed to shake him out of the string of thought he had forced his way into.

"_How could _you, _you, you attention-seeking, disgusting, manipulative-manipulative hussy!" _he snarled back at me causing me to recoil before rage overcame me.

"_Oh, Dragon dear, such a _gentleman_. I can see the good, pureblood upbringing," _I snarled back sarcastically.

"_What are you going to do, go and cry to the _gentlemen _you just love to throw yourself at? Be my fucking guest," _he hissed.

I felt myself being held, my hair and face being caressed gently. I took a deep breath, calming down before responding.

"_Well, then I guess tomorrow is a great time to start. I doubt Lucius will reject my advances, especially with the Lady Malfoy away, if not, then, as I'm sure you are more than aware, there are plenty of others that would gladly welcome them," I said cooly. _

"_You wouldn't."_

"_Why wouldn't I? Do you expect anything else from a, how did you put it?, 'a disgusting, manipulative hussy'?" _

"_You make me sick! I think I may vomit."_

"_Then maybe you'll do the world a favor and choke on it," _I sneered before pushing him to 'his' side of our mind and erecting the strongest, most indestructible barrier I could between us. '_Good luck getting through that, arsehole,' _I muttered to myself, as I felt him fighting tooth and nail trying to get through.

If I hadn't wanted to talk to him before, I didn't even want him _mentioned_ to me right now.

My eyes snapped open, and I did not like the sight before me, at all. All bunched together on the opposite side of the room, stood the twins, Harry, Neville, Aunt Minnie and Uncle Frank, staring at me with terrified eyes.

"Mia?" the twins asked me nervously.

"Just for the record, I am going to hang him by his ankles until the asshole begs for forgiveness. How dare he?! He thinks he can just waltz into my fucking mind. Well, no siree. Maybe I will start gallivanting with older men, they at least seem to be more considerate and chivalrous than him," I spat, shaking as I felt Draco trying to pummel through the wall. Considering how hard he was trying to get through to me, I guess he was regretting having said what he did.

"Err, I'm guessing that He is Draco?" Harry said awkwardly.

I turned a furious glare at him. Didn't he get that I didn't even want to hear his name?! I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. It wasn't Harry's fault. It wasn't any of their faults. They hadn't done anything.

"Yes, and he's going to have a shit of a time getting me to forgive him, let alone accept his fucking courtship!" I said through gritted teeth, trying to hold on to anger. Anger was good. Anger was safe, but the hurtful words he had spat at me replayed in my head. I felt him fighting more desperately to get through. He might be sorry, but that didn't mean he didn't mean it. I could feel tears fighting their way to my eyes. Not again. This was not going to happen here, in front of everyone, again. With that in mind, I ran. I ran, before I could embarrass myself further.

...

I was totally and completely sick of this. I was so emotional and sensitive and fragile and vulnerable, not physically as I was somewhat familiar with but, mentally and emotionally. No, I didn't like this. I just wanted to-to. I didn't know what I wanted. I just- I just- I wanted to not feel so _ill_. I was sick of feeling so uneasy and edgy. I wanted to not have to _force myself_ to eat. I was tired of wanting to puke at the mere thought of food. I wanted to sleep. I was tired of training all day and night. I was tired of getting such comfort and utter bliss from driving myself into the ground. I was tired of exhausting myself and still dreading to fall into the restless sleep that awaited me, but I couldn't find it in me to stop.

The feeling I got from dueling and ultimately destroying the dummies my training room created for me did wonders for my frazzled nerves. I would have been simply monstrous otherwise! With a smile, I realized my feet had wandered along with my mind. I was now inside my room, alone and free to vent my frustrations with my magic, take out my ire. Maybe I'd tire myself out enough to be able to actually get a four hours of sleep! That would be marvelous.

**-O-**

**Minerva's POV**

I was right on her heels. It was at times like these that I absolutely adored being a cat animagus. The thrill of a chase was absolutely liberating, making me feel as if I were still not a day over twenty. I kept running after her, as she took turn after turn, after turn. I was surprised when she rushed into the training room. I paused, confused. If she wanted privacy, why would she go into, for all intents and purposes, our main classroom? Nonetheless, I slipped through the door, only to in time to see her disappear through another door I had never seen before. Since when had that door be-

"Impossible!" I gasped as the door disappeared before my eyes.

I felt completely and utterly frustrated. How was I supposed to go in there and comfort my Mia, if I couldn't see the door!? I slipped onto the floor, resting my back on the wall, near where the damned door had been.

"Minnie? Minnie?! What's wrong lass? Frank! Frank! She's in here!" Tom's panicking voice reached my ears.

"Tom, she's in there and I can't get in. The damn'd door disappeared! I got distracted, and she's in there all alone, probably crying her eyes out," I cried.

"Oh, Minnie she'll be alrigh'. Maybe she wanted some space," Tom smiled softly, helping me up.

"Minnie, where's Mia?" Frank asked, as he jogged into the room.

"She came in here, a door appeared, and she went through it, and the damn door disappeared seconds later. I wasn't fast enough," I sniffled.

"Oh, well that shouldn't be an issue," Frank said nonchalantly. I snapped my eyes to him in a glare. My blood boiled at his blase attitude. That was his goddaughter in there, his 'Baby Girl'! Did he just suddenly stop giving a fuck!?

"Not an issue! You ba-"

"Tillie! Winky!" Frank called out cutting me off.

"Master Frank, calls Tillie and Winky?" they said as they popped into the room.

"Yes, could you please take us into the room Mistress Mia is in?" Frank asked amiably.

"We can do's this sir, but wes not thinking Mistress Mia be liking it.."

"We'll take the blame, but can you please pop us in?" I pleaded with them.

With a hesitant nod, the little elves took our hands and took us into the disappearing room.

**Hermione's POV**

I was relishing in the feel of a good fight. Dummy after dummy after dummy, I battled. I let loose, allowing myself to use the more dangerous, obscure hexes and curses I had been learning about and the more archaic ones that came from the LaFey and Ravenclaw family magic. I dodged once more, barely getting out of a rather nasty looking spell. I retaliated with a flesh disintegrating curse, which I must have overpowered, seeing how it seemed to melt faster than an ice cube in the scorching sun. My moment of distraction cost me a rather deep gash on my arm, but I shrugged off the pain and moved quickly out of the way before the dummy could inflict more damage. This time, I toned down the power, and only just barely caught sight of the dummy's left side slowly disintegrating before it shot another spell in my direction. I dodged cleanly this time, before shooting an overpowered cutting curse to its middle. I grinned widely as I saw this last dummy hit the ground in two pieces, the top portion almost completely disintegrated now.

I gasped at the sound of Uncle Frank's enraged voice, "Hermione Rhea Potter!"

How had they found me? How much had they seen? Maybe I'm lucky and they only saw the cutting curse. I stared open mouthed at Papa Tommy's and Aunt Minnie's shocked expressions and Uncle Frank's shaking frame.

" . .NOW," Uncle Frank growled, obviously trying to calm himself down, and not explode. I bit my lip, not knowing what to say, how I could even start explaining anything. What was I supposed to say? What could I possibly say? I couldn't say it wasn't what it looked like because it obviously can't have been anything else but what they had seen. "Now!" he yelled, obviously fed up with my silence.

"Frank! You won't get any answers yelling at her! Now, keep your mouth shut until you've gotten ahold of yourself!" Aunt Minnie snapped at him.

"She was using dark magic, Minnie! I want an explanation of how the hell she even knows these spells!" he roared.

"I-I've been t-teaching myself f-for years," I stuttered out, causing all three of them to look at me as if I were some kind of dangerous, volatile creature. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath, bracing myself for the inevitable outcome of this conversation. "And, it's not dark mag-"

"Not dark?! Don't make me laugh," Uncle Frank began.

"It's not! They aren't unforgivables. They don't destroy one's soul or humanity. They're just more potent," I cut him off, hoping that at least one of them could at least start to understand.

"They are meant to kill!" he snarled, looking at me with just barely contained disdain. "They are dark!"

"We're in a war! Why do we have to be so damn limited? Why do we have to be the ones that die just because we refuse to see that the world is not just black and white? It's this kind of thinking that lets people like Dumbledore pull the wool over the eyes of a whole country! Just because he isn't evil and he defeated Grindewald, someone who was supposedly just complete darkness, he has to be the epitome of goodness and light! Why?!" I screeched, tears now rushing down my cheeks.

"I agree with you, you know," I said softer, realizing that they were too shocked to argue. This was the only time that they might actually listen to her view on the subject, without interrupting. "Dark magic, true dark magic, is _unacceptable_. True dark magic is the kind that requires an unnatural sacrifice. It sacrifices the life of an innocent; it corrupts and/or splits the soul; it consumes humanity. If the spells I use are dark, just because they _can_ kill someone then all magic is dark. I could kill someone with a leg-locking hex, a levitation charm, even a summoning charm! Why do we have to be the pitying merciful ones? Why do we have to let them destroy us? Why do we have to use the slingshot, when we could use a gun? They certainly are not holding back, then I don't think we should either. That doesn't mean we'll go out slinging out unforgivables and sacrificing newborns and virgins, but we can't just let them demolish us," I finished with a sniffle.

"How long?" Aunt Minnie asked softly. "When did this start?" she asked again, her voice more stern.

"Th-third year," I sniffed. "I began reading and studying them third year," I continued in a stronger voice.  
I had thought that Uncle Sirius would go after Harry, and that he'd use dark magic to kill him. I needed to know what we'd be up against to protect him... that was when I started thinking about how useful they could be, but it wasn't until Viktor that I realized how utterly ridiculous our labels are. In Bulgaria Moony Remy, Fleur, and he wouldn't be classed as dark or dangerous, but they are, and would be, ostracized, feared, and hunted here. It was then that I realized that it was ridiculous to follow these rules and dichotomies that only served to limit and blind the people.

"Yes, we need morals, but older, obscure spells did not infringe on those morals. I know, and acknowledge that we need rules and standards and all that, but those rules and standards are meant to be for the good of the people, nothing else. These rules and standards that were only created and set to limit and control the people, are not meant to be followed," I finished fiercely.

"I can' argue with ya lass, but, Mina, it's going to take us a bit to be comfortable with this. We were raised against all of this... but I think-"

"The shield, from training, was that one of your '_obscure_' spells?" Uncle Frank cut in suddenly.

"Yes. It absorbs the power of the spells cast at it, and with each spell it draws in a bit of the attacker's magic and sometimes life essence, depending on the spells used, but it takes a ridiculously stupid amount of tenacity to deplete an attacker's magic or life essence," I replied automatically, unconsciously falling into teacher mode.

"And you don't approve of blood rituals?"

"None that require an unnatural sacrifice."

"Meaning what, exactly?" he asked snippily.

"I do not approve of true dark blood rituals. These are rituals that go against nature, life, and spirit. I do not approve of these, but I cannot look down on other blood rituals that do not go against these things, " I answered immediately.

"Runic rituals?"

"Same thing."

**Frank's POV**

"What makes you so sure that you will be able to tell what does and doesn't go against these things?" I challenged, trying to hang onto the only thing that had been consistent and true for the whole of my life.

Her eyes and skin glowed as she answered me with full confidence, "if my own judgement fails me, Magic herself will warn me, for they are a corruption of herself. Rituals that go against nature, go against Magic. They do not _just happen_. Magic is all about intent, and especially so in such cases because Magic cannot be naturally corrupted. This corruption can only be done through force, and to occur the corruptor must be completely conscious of what they are doing and willing to do such a thing to Magic."

With her declaration, my skepticism fell away, and I could tell that any reservations that Minnie and Tom had dissolved as well. I was sure that if the once so solid line between light and dark, good and bad, had not already been tested and blurred, we would not have let go of our preconceptions so readily, but as it was this was most likely a long time coming...

"Very well, we'll look into adding this into the training once we explain it to the rest," I sighed.

"Aye, we'll probably need to charm some more o' those dummies. An' you need to work on facing more than one at a time. It won' be one on one all the time," Tom added with a grim smile.

Hermione's body sagged with relief before she flashed us a small smile.

"Now, about this room.. How did you find it? And how did you make the door disappear?" Minnie jumped in.

"What do you mean? The door's always been there. I've been coming in here to train when I can't sleep," Mia replied completely confused.

"So only you can see it?... Wait, and since when can't you sleep!?"

"I don't know if only I can see it. Maybe it's the Manor's Magic?" Hermione speculated. "I never thought about it.."

"You're evading, Baby Girl, since when can't you sleep?" I asked shortly.

"I don't know."

"Want to try for an honest answer, Hermione Rhea?" Minerva asked in her stern teacher voice. Mia looked at Minnie pleadingly, but she didn't give an inch. Finally, my baby girl's cheeks reddened as she lowered her head in defeat.

"It's gotten worse ever since we haven't slept in the same bed," Baby Girl answered quietly.

"Alright, and do you think that that may have led to whatever happened during the meditations?"

"I really don't want to talk about it... please," Mia looked at us with pleading eyes.

"Okay, then at least.. just go up to your room and try to sleep for the rest of the day, alright?" Minerva sighed, looking at Mia with worried eyes.

"I'll be down for hand-to-hand, but I'll go rest for a while, deal?" she bargained, with a hopeful smile.

"Oh alright," Minerva gave in, although she obviously didn't like the compromise very much.

Just like that she was gone, and we were left in an awkward silence.

"Well, now you know what she was holding back Frank," Tom joked, trying to lighten the mood.

I shot him a dirty look. Maybe I was better off wondering what special skill she was hiding than finding out like this. She had been readying for war since her third year, and I didn't like it one bit. I could see her argument and I, intellectually, knew that these aggressive spells would make a world's difference, but I still wasn't comfortable with the idea that she, already, seemed so willing and ready to end a life.

"She's a warrior. She's grown up seeing the worst in people. She has a less emotional view of the world than the rest of us. She won't take killing lightly, Frank. I've seen her grow up these past few years. She protects what's hers fiercely, but she isn't a ruthless killer. She's just willing to do what must be done to make us, those she loves, come out of this alive," Minerva told me softly, somehow guessing where my thoughts were. Clasping my hand between her own, she looked me in the eye. "Frank, I know that she is your little girl, but I think you should have a little more trust in her."

**Narrator's POV**

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?!" Hermione screeched once she had processed what she was seeing.

There Draco lay in th-_HER_ bed, face down on _HER_ pillow, not even having the decency to apologize for invading her room, hogging her bed and taking her pillow. When he didn't react, she made good on the promise she had made earlier. Within less than a second she had him dangling by his ankles in the middle of her room.

"Mia, put me down!" he groaned, his voice thick as if he had been sleeping.

"Do you really want me to put you down because I am more than willing to put you down. Maybe you'll land in a pile of shit somewhere. I haven't much experience with launching heavy objects long distances, so I apologize beforehand if you land on your neck," Hermione growled, her anger flaring once more.

"Mia, I'm an arse, and I'm sorry, but this isn't the kind of apology I want to give to you. It doesn't seem sincere if you have me hanging upside down, threatening to hurt me. I owe you a damned good apology and an explanation, and I'm so sorry. I tried so hard to break through the wall, but I couldn't, and then... well here I am..." Hermione glared at him, feeling him tentatively poke at the wall she erected as he said all of this. She felt her anger simmer down, and decided to hear him out, but not without hurting him just a bit for being an arse. Without preamble she let him fall to the ground, smirking at his groan.

She sat herself on the bed, watching as he picked himself up, and tried to straighten out his clothes. She was staring at him stoically, and it was making him overwhelmingly nervous. She had a right to be completely and absolutely pissed, but he wished that she wouldn't block him out like she had and was right now.

"Please say something," he pleaded. She pinned him down with a murderous glare before raising an eyebrow and petulantly facing away from him, arms crossed firmly. He would have rebuked her for her childishness if he hadn't caught a glimpse of her quivering bottom lip just before she turned away. Before she could react, he pulled her into a firm hug, and he breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't made no move to push him away.

Hermione smiled bitterly when she felt him relax. Even if she had the energy to push him away and make him go away, she wouldn't have done so. It felt so good to be so close to him again. She could already feel the tension flow out of her body, her magic calming in his presence. She felt her eyelids grow heavy with days'-worth of pure unmitigated exhaustion, and she surrendered gladly to it.

Draco was starting to get worried. Hermione had sunk and relaxed into him at least fifteen minutes ago and she had yet to move. He pulled back awkwardly, trying to catch a glimpse of her face, and was surprised to find her eyes closed and mouth just slightly open. She was asleep!

To say he was shocked would be an understatement. Hermione was never one for naps or lie-ins. He bit his bottom lip, and chanced a closer inspection of her face. Now, with her eyes closed and face relaxed, empty of that ever-present gentle smile, he could see how pale her skin was, especially in contrast with the sunken in, dark circles underneath her eyes, her lips pulled down into a little frown. How long had it been since she had last slept?

Draco, for the first time since he had left, realized how self-centered he had been. He had not been having a single full night's sleep, but he had been lazing around and napping whenever he had the chance. He had actually blamed Hermione for his restless sleep, thinking that it had been the uneasiness of knowing she wasn't happy, but it hadn't been that, had it? If he were to take a guess now, looking at her exhausted state, he would say that it was the bond. Apparently it wasn't yet stable. Now, he was beginning to understand why she was so upset with him. If he had known what it would do to her, he would have stayed.

"That's not the point," Hermione said softly. "Well, not entirely. It doesn't matter that our bond wasn't, _isn't_ stable yet. It's that you just left. You left me with nothing more than a farewell, see you soon. Yo-It's that _I_ wasn't significant enough to merit an... not an explanation... but a _notification_ of sorts. I just had to hear about your decision to go back to Malfoy Manor until Uncle Siri went to get you, when you were about to leave as you were telling everyone else. You didn't tell me anything, and I _knew _you didn't tell me anything because you didn't want me to argue against your decision.

"You automatically _assumed _I would argue and not listen to what you had to say... when you left just like that I felt like such complete and utter shit. Am I _really _that unreasonable? Did I grate on your nerves so much you couldn't stand the idea of spending an entire month with me? And-And I just wanted to cry, scream and yell at you, and just hold you tight so you couldn't go, but I couldn't do even _one _of those," she said, starting to speak a lot faster as she said the things she had been wanting to say for quite a few days now. "I had to smile and pretend it would be alright... even though my magic felt like it was about to fold into itself repeatedly until it became so compressed that it burst free and flattened everything within a 21-kilometer radius. It was so absolutely _ridiculous,_ and I was hormonal, and the hurt was supposed to go away over the days, but it didn't, and I hurt and my magic hurts, and there's so much of it and it's- we're so uneasy and temperamental and we can't rest because we're not the calm; we don't have the calm! That's not us. I- you- and I- and then they saw and- and you arse!" she finished hysterically, tears streaming down her cheeks for the second time that day.

"I didn't think it would hurt you so much. I just knew that if you told me to stay or I saw you crying I wouldn't have left. I don't even know why I thought it was such a good idea to leave. I could have just asked Poppy to say I was in my room, and Lucius never would have sought me out. I'm sorry Mia. I didn't think and I hurt you without meaning to, and then I lashed out and hurt you again. I just didn't understand why you were ignoring me, and then seeing you ignore me while everyone else had your full attention and got to spend time with you, I just snapped. I- you're mine, and nobody knows you are and everyone wants you to be theirs, and They can't have you Mia." he finished firmly, his voice having grown stronger and more passionate as he verbalized everything that had been going on inside of his head.

"You're mine too, but just keep in mind that next time you do something idiotic like that again you might need Aunt Poppy to regrow your skin because you won't have any left once I'm through with you, got it," she growled at him, scowling.

"As long as you don't ignore me like that ever again, I don't think that'll be necessary," Draco said calmly.

"So communication?" Hermione laughed softly.

"Definitely," Draco chuckled softly, before readjusting their bodies so that they could both lie down, her body on top of his. "Now, just to make sure I'm not misunderstanding and so we actually communicate. Am I forgiven?" he breathed into her ear.

Hermione shuddered as her heart started beating frantically, suddenly very much so aware of his firm body underneath her. "I-yes," Hermione breathed, internally cursing her weakness for him. He was infuriating, truly. He started drawing patterns up and down her arms with his fingers, making the magic under her skin hum.

"So you're not angry with me?" he asked huskily, his chest vibrating under her. That git, he was deliberately teasing her!

"Not at the moment, but you really have a talent for riling me up. Now, you can either be a good, lumpy mattress and stay still and shut up, or you can leave," Hermione said moodily, feeling all the days' worth of exhaustion as all the tension and unease dissipated completely.

"I'll be good. I'll let you sleep, I promise."

Almost immediately he felt her body sag into his completely. He smiled at the sleeping girl on top of him. Godric, he had missed her. Never again would they do that again. It had been terrible, and to think it was all because they lacked communication. Never again. With that in mind, he too was soon pulled into a deep peaceful slumber.

...15:00 ...

Minerva didn't know whether to be worried or relieved that Hermione had yet to come into the training room. Maybe she was so knackered that she would sleep until dinner, or something else had happened. What if she had become unconscious due to magical exhaustion? Or what if the strain of her and Draco's bond had been too much and she was in pain? So many things could have happened. It wouldn't hurt to check in on her.

Minerva made her way to Mia's room, fretting the entire way. Her mind supplying worse and worse possibilities, each one less plausible than the one before it. When she opened the door to Mia's room, the first thing she saw was the bunch of vines in the middle of the room. Immediately, her eyes roamed the room, searching desperately for Hermione, only to find her peacefully asleep on top of a slumbering Draco.

Minerva smiled widely at the sight. They were positively adorable! Minerva smirked as her gaze returned to the vines. Apparently Hermione had made good on her promise earlier. She was slightly disappointed she hadn't been able to watch that, but she was more than glad that they seemed to have made up. With another fond smile directed toward the pair, she quietly exited the room and closed the door. They could sleep until dinner.

...10 minutes before dinner, Hermione's room...

"You're going to have to go back you know," Hermione sighed.

"I was thinking I could go for dinner, come back for the night, and then go back in the early morning and wait for you two to visit," Draco proposed tentatively. Hermione smiled happily at the idea and nodded.

"It's settled then, I'll see you tonight," Draco promised, giving her a sweet kiss before calling Poppy and asking her to take him to Malfoy Manor.

...The Next Day...

**Sirius's POV**

"Were you expecting visitors Lucius," I heard Snape say with my enhanced canine hearing. There was an awkwardly long pause, before Lucius replied.

"I apologize Severus. I haven't been all there for a while. Did you say something?"

"Never mind, let's just have some of our wine, shall we?" Snape sighed impatiently.

Hermione must have heard Snape by now as well, seeing how she all but ran towards the voices, right into Lucius's study.

"Oh, Lord Malfoy, I apologize. I was not aware that you would be having company."

"Oh, it is no problem. It was quite a surprise visit actually," he answered hesitantly, almost as if he were confused. What was there to be confused about bloody wanker.

"Oh, pardon my manners, Lady Hermione Rhea Potter, a pleasure Mr.-"

"Severus Snape, milady," the slimy git practically purred, pressing his disgusting lips to the back of Mia's hands.

"A pleasure," she said politely. "Oh, is that Beringer? Oh, isn't it simply delectable?" Mia exclaimed eyeing the bottle of wine on the table just behind Snape.

"Yes, quite. Would you like a taste, Lady Potter?" Malfoy asked gallantly. "You could take my glass. I'll serve myself another."

"Lucius, you cannot possibly think to give the Lady your glass. Is it not unbecoming?" Snape cut in, looking a bit more pale than his usual vampiric self, if I said so myself.

"Nonsense, I have yet to drink from it. Here you are milady. I hope it is to your liking," Lucius said charmingly, sending a handsome smile her way.

Hermione blushed and returned his smile with a shy, coquettish one of her own as she took the glass from his hands. Hermione took a grand sniff of the wine, her face twisting into a blissful smile.

"Oh, it smells simply deli-" she cut herself off, a pretty little frown marring her features. Her frown deepened as she smelled the wine more delicately. "Hm, that's curious... it has a very subtle hint of... I can't quite place it... Scion Malfoy, perhaps you could humor me?" she asked coyly tipping the wine glass in his direction.

"Of course," Draco smirked, stepping closer to Hermione than strictly necessary and appropriate.

He locked eyes with her, giving her a heated, smouldering stare as he wrapped his hand over hers to bring the glass up to his face. Once he had the glass of wine, instead of taking a quick sniff, letting go, and stepping back immediately, as would have only been polite considering they were not alone in the room, he smiled roguishly at Hermione, making her blush darkly and pulled her even closer to him.

Did they have no shame!? Honestly, I was his father, her honorary Uncle! And the other two weren't just sitting ducks either! I'd have to have a few words with my son once he came home to the Manor. They couldn't just go around acting like hormone-addled teenagers! At least not without causing a ruckus and making their family utterly uncomfortable, and that just wouldn't do, especially with Mia's position as Lady Potter-Ravenclaw-LaFey!

"You're right..." I heard Draco mutter softly, stepping away from Mia and bringing me back to the present. "Father, I believe there, in fact, is something off about the wine. I would guess baneberry and armadillo bile, but that would make no sense, since that would counteract the _lethal _qualities of the baneberry. Perhaps, you ought to see for yourself," Draco said, holding out the glass to Lucius 'Arsehole' Malfoy.

"_He is my boy. MINE," _I thought possessively.

"Father?" Draco repeated, his tone a bit more worried this time, effectively subduing my bubbling bitterness. I looked up and saw Malfoy staring at the glass with glazed, cloudy eyes that seemed to sporadically shift from confusion to pain and then back to blankness once more. Now that was strange, what had they said was in the wine?... Baneberry. Poison. Potions, none that I recall. Armadillo bile. Unsavory, volatile. Wit-sharpening potion... Correlation? None immediately obvious. Great...

"Lord Malfoy?" Mia's worried plea seemed to get through Malfoy, since he blinked lethargically and answered with a detached "Yes?"

"Are you well?" she asked, inching towards him.

"I-" he trailed off, shaking his head as if to clear it. It seemed to not work as trembling hands made their way to cover his eyes. A deep, controlled breath later, he said, "I am well Lady Potter, no need to fret."

"Humor me then, Lord Malfoy. Please take a seat, you as well Mr. Snape. I fear for your well-beings and I shall not have any peace until I can be certain that you are both well and unaffected," Hermione pleaded with wide eyes.

They gave her a stony glare. Well, the greasy git gave her a glare. Malfoy just looked on blankly. With watery eyes and trembling, pouty lips that definitely rounded out the whole just-short-of-hysterical act. She reached out for the two men shakily, took their hands in hers, and led them to the comfortable chairs in from of Lucius's desk. Snape gave her a glare that would have had anyone else scuttling away in fear, but did not pull away from her, and actually sat without protest.

I watched warily as she stood between the dungeon bat's legs and proceeded to check his pupils, temperature and heart rate. Mia nodded to herself, her shoulders sagging a bit in apparent relief before repeating the same procedure with Lucius. As her little test proceeded, however, her face contorted into a deeper and more worried frown.

"Lord Black, if you please, could you contact Poppy for me?" she asked giving me an urgent look. "Lord Malfoy's pulse is irregular, his temperature is running lower than normal, and his eyes, while the pupil is not dilated, there's something off about them," she explained, her voice hitching at the end.

Before I could even move to get Poppy, however, Snape got to his feet and said, "Lady Potter, Lord Malfoy has not had a single drop of that wine. Do you not think that you are overreacting perhaps?"

"Who is to say that he has not had any before you got here, Mister Snape?" she challenged. "Besides, even if it is not due to the wine, he is still quite obviously ill. I understand that my actions may overstep certain boundaries of what is proper and be considered meddlesome on my behalf, but I have no doubts that Lady Malfoy will appreciate that her husband is being looked after. Now, Lord Black, if you could..?" I didn't even let her finish before I was off to fetch Poppy. There was funny business going on, and we had to get it sorted as soon as possible.

...Mere Minutes After Poppy Pomfrey's Arrival...

Poppy's face grew darker as she ran diagnostic after diagnostic after diagnostic. Snape had left the second we had moved Malfoy to one of the spare guestrooms on the lower level. Shows how much the greasy bastard actually cares for his supposed friend.

"I'm afraid he is going through extreme withdrawal, judging from his symptoms. A screening of his blood shows that his blood has traces of armadillo bile, maliciousness mixture, main ingredient baneberry, and loyalty potion, main ingredient powdered moonstone. The mixing of maliciousness mixture and loyalty potion is actually notoriously detrimental to one's sanity, especially considering that it seems that these were completely or, at least, partially keyed to specific people. Luckily, the potions seem to have been adjusted to make the two more compatible, less detrimental to mental functions and more potent. It might have been the armadillo bile actually... it's the main ingredient in the wit-sharpening potion...

Anyways, the neurological activity my scans picked up indicate that his sanity appears to be entirely intact, independent of the withdrawal, of course. Lord Malfoy will be having a rough few days. Purging toxins from the body, especially armadillo bile in such quantities is nasty business. He'll be needing loads of attention," Poppy finished, sighing heavily.

I turned to see Hermione biting her lip, with a worried look on her pretty little face, and I immediately knew I wasn't going to like whatever was coming.

"I know you two aren't going to like this... but I want to bring him to the Manor," she said firmly. I knew it. I don't like this one bit. Nope. No. No. No. No. NO, I refuse. "Also, Poppy, if you could maybe figure out who the potions were tied to that would be loads of help. If not, we can probably just see if Amy can take a good look at the glass of wine."

...an hour later...

"It couldn't have just disappeared!" I roared for the hundredth time. "Those damn elv-"

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!" Mia screeched, her red hair sporting ominously white flames. Oops. "If they said that they did not take them and that they don't know what happened to them, then they don't. I will not have you insulting others for something so insignificant," she snapped, before taking a calming breath. "The bottle isn't there and neither is the glass. That only means that we won't have any concrete evidence that could tell us who was giving Lucius those potions, but at least he'll be free of influence now, and we'll just have to see from there, alright?" she said calmly, before turning around and making her way back to talk to the Malfoy elves and apologize on my behalf.

My eyes landed on Malfoy's pale form on the bed and groaned inwardly. Did he really have to come home with us? I'm pretty sure he's an utter bastard, even without potions.

"Oh, honestly, Uncle Siri. You can't still be moping about him coming to the manor. You won't even see him! Aunt Poppy and I will be the only ones seeing him, unless anyone else actually wants to," Hermione admonished as she walked back towards me after having rekindled the elves' spirits.

...Three Days Later...

**Hermione's POV**

"Mia, bella mia," Draco breathed into my ear, wrapping his arms behind me as my body re-merged into the current timeline. "You need to sleep as well, you know," he murmured into the skin of my neck.

"But training only just ended, it's too early to sleep. Besides, Rita said she was going to send us her final draft of the interviews tonight. I want to go over them," I protested, but it wasn't very convincing considering I was squinting trying to still see despite the way my heavy eyelids insisted on covering my eyes completely. He spun me in his arms, so I would face him.

"You already talked to her about phrasing and you went over her second draft with her. I'll read it over along with Andy. You need to eat something, take your potions, take a relaxing bath, and sleep in tomorrow. You need to take care of yourself Mia. Lucius is just about fully recovered, and you heard Aunt Poppy and Andy. They'll look after him," he said pressing a sweet kiss to my temple.

"I'm turning back for conditioning and everything I missed," I stubbornly said.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," he smiled, before pulling me further into him, resting his chin on the top of my head.

"Fine."

... the next day...

"_**A Ministry of Change- '**__First of all, I would like to clarify that regretfully, Lord Black, although accused of various crimes, he had never been tried. It was the cruelty of the past ministry, and a woeful oversight of our current ministry that led to twelve years of Lord Black's life being spent in the hell-hole that is Azkaban. _

_As Scion Potter's questioning earlier in the summer revealed. He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named has indeed returned. I am afraid it took the knowledge of his return to prompt me into a state of action. I believe it is necessary to take a firm stand against this threat and to right the ministry, the clearing of Lord Black's name was only our first step in the right direction. _

_We _must _better Our ministry in order to rid it of any weaknesses that may be exploited. We cannot allow Our ministry and people to succumb to the darkness. The ministry will do everything it can to protect it's people. We will be a ministry of change, a ministry of strength, integrity and fairness,' announced Minister Fudge during the Potter/Black interview, when he was questioned as to why he had cleared Lord Black of all charges._

_We at the Daily Prophet would like to congratulate Minister Fudge for his proactive stance. We support him all the way, and I think we can all say that this Ministry of Change will be welcomed with open arms." _

I smiled nodding in approval. From what I had read of this first article, I could tell it was sweet, concise, and left no room for argument. Good, Rita seemed to have gotten the gist of what we needed. It definitely made Minister Fudge look very good, and it made the "new, emerging" ministry very desirable.

"_**The Real Boy Who Lived- '**__The Boy Who Lived, the first time I had heard the moniker was when I first set foot at Hogwarts. Harry Potter, the first time I heard my name was when I started muggle primary school, before then, I had been led to believe my name was freak. I know a lot of you see me as a hero, that apparently some children books portrayed me as, but how could I be a hero, when I had no idea magic even existed until my Hogwarts letter arrived,'_ _Scion Harry Potter explained, when asked why he had snorted at the mention of his title, or moniker as he calls it. _

_When asked to explain how it was possible that one of the wizards held in greatest regard since Merlin himself did not know who or what he was before he turned eleven, we heard a heart-clenching tale of the real Harry James Potter: 'Everyday was the same, ever since I turned five. I'd wake up early, clean my cupboard, make breakfast, make sure the house, both inside and out was immaculate, let Dudley and his friends play their Harry hunting, if I was lucky I'd outrun them that day, sneak a bit of food if my aunt and uncle weren't looking, hope that I wouldn't do something freakish, because that would make things get ugly real fast, and finally retreating back to my cupboard for the night. When I started school, everything was the same except I now had to make up for the hours I lost at school. That's who I was before Hogwarts and during the summers. _

_Luckily, soon after starting at Hogwarts, Madam Pomfrey started me on a potion regime to treat me and get me up to a healthy height and weight. She, Professor McGonagall, and my friends...I don't know where I would have been without them.'_

_I think we can all agree that young Scion Potter is most definitely a hero. Being such a kind, considerate young man despite his torturous upbringing is nothing short of marvelous. We at the Daily Prophet hope that whomever is responsible for the negligence in the upbringing of Heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Potter will faces Justice._

I smiled slightly, not too shabby. No one was being outright blamed for the mistreatment of Harry, but it certainly laid down the groundwork for promises of retribution the second a name is given. I skipped down to the next article and just read the last paragraph, already knowing what the rest would say.

_**The Tale and Woes of Lord Black- **_"_... As Lord Black told us his story, one cannot help but wonder why? How? Who? The only ones that knew of the change of secret keepers, the birth of his baby boy, and even his marriage to the now Lady Marlene Black, were the leader and a couple members of the Order of the Phoenix, and the traitorous Peter Pettigrew. We can't help but question who ripped this family apart and why. Maybe, just maybe the world isn't the clear-cut dichotomy we made it out to be._

_Hoping the guilty are brought to justice, and the right changes are made, _

_Much love to my faithful readers, _

_Rita Skeeter," _I finished reading, my mouth slightly ajar. It was ballsy, controversial, but still restrained enough to not cause complete chaos, but it should definitely get people thinking and suspicious of the way things have always been. Definitely a good start to the day! Now I just had to check on Lucius, turn back, and train. Definitely a good day.

**I hope the interviews, well the lack of, doesn't disappoint too much. I honestly thought this would be best since a lot is already happening and the interviews would take a lot longer to actually do. Anyways, I hope y'all liked it. Please R&amp;R! Pretty pretty please. I'll be better about writing and posting more often, I promise... well I'll try really hard.**

**Now I would like to thank those beautiful, wonderful people who have shown me their love and support by reviewing: **Grovek26, PotterWatchBrigade, winrykatbell, jon08, CleoViolet, heavenly1998, and fnblrseishin. **Thank you sooooo soo much! Y'all are the best, my motivation :D ^_^ **


	29. Lucius Love Story

**A/N Hello all! ^_^ So I have no excuse. I took an English Intro to Writing Fiction class, and that had me super busy all quarter, but I've been on spring break for a while, so there's really no excuse for not having uploaded a chapter at least a couple of weeks ago... Any who, here it is, it is a lot shorter than the usual chapters, but after this chapter I was to do a little time jump or at least a change of scene... **

**Alright, sooo I'd like to thank those of you who reviewed! Y'all motivate me to write more often and put more thought into what I'm writing so yes.. Anywho, for the two guests who reviewed, since I can't directly reply to your reviews here goes: **

**Guest: HP&amp;OP I meant to mean Harry Potter &amp; the Order of the Phoenix **

**Guest: Azerty: I didn't say that she had never been able to conjure a corporeal patronus before. She just hadn't been able to produce a lasting one,** ("I poured my magic and will into conjuring an actual _lasting _corporeal patronus. I exhaled in relief as I saw something silver leave my wand and fly out the window before disappearing.") **So**** she already knew what her patronus would be, she just couldn't make it last before, nor had she ever sent a message patronus for the same reason that they tend to dissipate much too quickly.**

**Lucius POV**

I didn't know how long I had been here. It felt like an eternity, especially with the amount of fluids that seemed to be recurrently exiting my body rather violently, and the restless, sleepless nights, which made time pass all the more slowly. The only repose from the hell of an existence these past few days were her visits. Sure Madam Pomfrey was nice enough, but Pomfrey treated me with a clinical detachment reminiscent to my school days, but she, on the other hand, was another case entirely. She treated me with a warmness I had not experienced in decades. She, somehow, reminded me so much of her. She treated me like just another person, it had started with warm courtesy, and, now, dare I think it, we were friends. The first true, disinterested friend since her.

I smiled bitterly. This was the first time in years that I had let myself think about her. I never knew what had happened. It had all happened so fast. We had met, quite accidentally, or could it be coincidentally? I suppose, in retrospect, that both could work. Nonetheless, we had become tentative friends, quickly became best friends, then, as the years passed, love had snuck up on us, stealthily, like a criminal in the night. Yes, it had been a most fortunate sequence of events, until it wasn't.

Just as love had so silently snuck up on us, so did the end of it all. It all ended in a snap, and just like acid corroding metal, my life steadily fell into disarray. She was taken from me. She was cast out of her family, and she was rejected by people of our status, and I grew bitter. She had shut me out, ignored me, and eventually married him. Poisoned by my jealousy, pettiness and hurt I ruined my life, and poor Narcissa's.

"Hello Lucius," a timid voice that definitely did not belong to Madame Pomfrey or Hermione Rhea brought me out of the depressing spiral of my thoughts. I blinked, getting my eyes to focus on the figure to whom the voice belonged. My breath caught in my chest, as my widened eyes took in the figure of the very subject of my not so pleasant thoughts: Andromeda Black. Well, she was now Andromeda Tonks, but...

"Andy?" The pained whisper escaped my throat without consent. I cleared my throat, trying to center myself and proceed with as much dignity as possible, considering the circumstances. "I beg your pardon, Mrs. Tonks, I fear I have mistaken you for another. My sincerest apologies. I am curious, however, as to what you are doing here. Is Hermione Rhea not coming?"

"Lucius- I-," she cut herself off uncomfortably, before straightening her shoulders. She continued, in a more calm, diplomatic tone, "No, she is catching up on some much needed rest, and I am here to keep you company in her stead."

"Well, your intentions are most appreciated Mrs. Tonks, but there is no need for you to upset your most busy schedule to tend to me. I am most well now. You have no obligation to stay," I said with an equally diplomatic tone, sure that it would be enough for her to take her leave. I had no desires to have further opportunity to think on the past. There was nothing to do about it now, so many things had been ruined, so many things that could not be undone. The past was best left untouched, unthought of.

"Do you want me to leave?" She asked, her dark eyes betraying the hurt, annoyance, and disbelief her tone had so masterfully hidden.

"Yes. I see no point in subjecting ourselves to discomfort at best and most painful torture at worst. I am most aware that apart from Hermione Rhea, my presence in this house is tolerated at most. I have no desires of imparting in hypocritical acts of civility, they are most trying, especially when nought is to be gained," was my dry retort. I had no doubt she could sense my annoyance, just as I had hers.

"Then I shall leave you be," she sniffed haughtily before sashaying out of the room, chin held high.

"It seems she has not changed in all these years," I thought sadly, before trying to quiet my uneasy mind and slowly slipping into the land of Morpheus.

...

"Hello Lucius."

"Hello Hermione Rhea," I smiled drowsily, still lethargic from my sleep.

"Why do you insist on calling me that. It's so dreadfully long," she huffed, her nose wrinkling slightly with her amusement.

"And terribly beautiful as well. That nickname of your is what is truly dreadful. Mia, so common. Almost as terrible as someone butchering Lucius to Lu or Louie. It's simply a waste of a good name," I replied with a smile.

"I don't know, Lu is rather endearing don't you think?" She asked, tilting her head ever so slightly, her face exhibiting an impish smile that just exuded mischievousness.

"Just as endearing and inelegant as Mia, yes. Now, Hermione Rhea, pray tell, what are you doing here? I was informed that you would not be dropping by today."

She playfully rolled her eyes at my insistence to call her by her given name, before her face grew grave. "Why have you rejected Andy's company?," she inquired unexpectedly, her tone neutrally curious. I eyed her blandly, inwardly debating how much she knew and how much I was willing to divulge. Apparently I had taken too long deciding what to tell her, as her expression turned impatient.

"She was simply trying to be kind, you know," she berated, my eyebrows lifted as her hair seemed to glow slightly. Was she not too old for accidental magic? "Not everyone is as hostile as Harry and Uncle Siri. You should really try to reach out to others more. You're a kind, considerate, charismatic man, the others just have to see it before they soften towards you, but how are they going to realize you're not so bad if you callously reject their attempts to get close?"

I glared at her words. What exactly had Andromeda told them all? At worst I was dispassionate, but I had not been rude! I had only said that there was no need to force civility between us. We had no need to live a farce. We had no obligation to do so.

"What exactly did she tell you because I can assure you that under no circumstances could my behavior towards her be described as crass, rude, or anything of the like," I huffed, crossing my arms defensively.

"Well, she didn't tell me. Draco found her...upset, and she said that she was only a bit put off by your lack of willingness to even try to get along, but well he sensed that there was a lot more behind her discontent...and well he-"

"Blamed me and you believed him?" I cut in bitingly, not all that surprised someone I had considered a true friend would think so little of me. It wouldn't be the first time, after all.

"No! I defended you to him, but I... I just wanted to know why you and Andy didn't get along. I was so sure you two would get along famously, but, instead, you're both upset, and I don't know why," Hermione Rhea pouted.

"Do not fret about it Hermione Rhea. We have a bit of a tumultuous history. It is not wholly surprising that our first encounter in years brought forth a few negative feelings."

"So... a bad breakup?" she guessed. I snorted, despite how close to the mark she had been. We had never actually broken up, and it was more of her being uprooted from my life, but, in essence, I supposed that bad break up covered the gist of it. "You two should probably talk it out. I don't think you'll be able to avoid each other entirely anymore, and it's pretty obvious that you're both still hurting," Hermione sighed, patting my leg before leaving me alone to my thoughts.

**Andromeda's POV... **

I hadn't really known what to expect, but it certainly hadn't been that. He had been so cold, so stoic. I hadn't expected it to hurt so much. A part of me must have hoped that he would receive me warmly and that everything would return to normal, but how else could I have expected things to go? If anything, it could have gone a lot worse.

I had been so confused, so embarrassed, so scared, and I had shut him out. I could only imagine how it was for him. His intended, his best friend, goes to the damned party he had been trying to convince her to not go to since he would not be able to accompany her, she doesn't return for the night, and then, out of the blue, she completely ignores him, doesn't even look in his direction, and then next thing anyone really knows, she is cast out of the family, and years later ends up married to the one that had invited her to the same party she had gone to.

If only I had listened to Lucius. He always had a sort of sixth sense when it came to detecting eminent disasters. The amount of times his little ability had saved our skins were innumerable, but I had wanted to go to the party. It was Ted's seventeenth birthday party, after all, and Hufflepuff parties were all the rage, since they were pretty much to open to people of any house, as long as you had a personal invite from a puff. How was I supposed to know that it would get so out of-

"Andy? Andy can I talk to you?" Hermione called, knocking on the door softly.

"Sure. Come on in."

Before I could ask her what she wanted to talk about, I felt the bed dip beside me. She sighed heavily, before taking one of my hands in hers.

"You need to talk to him Andy... He didn't really tell me what happened between the two of you, but he seemed rather upset when I went to see him a while ago... kind of sad, and you don't look much better yourself. I know it's been a while since everything happened, but I think you both deserve to finally have the air cleared between the two of you…"

I sat there biting my lip in silence, debating whether it was really time to actually face him and address the hippogriff in the room. Would I be able to tell him everything that had gone on all those years ago? Would he even want to listen? Probably not, but could I really live without telling him everything. No, I could not. I would go insane just having him around and having to deal with the damned guilt every single time I saw him. No, I had to talk to him, whether he wanted to listen or not.

**Narrator's POV..**

"Mrs. Tonks, if you have come here for an apology, I fear you will not be getting one. I have done nothing to –

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Lucius. I know this apology is long, long overdue, but I'm so sorry," Andromeda said, her voice cracking as she stared at his unblinking, steel, blue eyes. "Say something, Lucius… please," Andromeda pleaded, not bearing the stony silence that had followed.

"Do you really want me to say something?" Lucius asked, his tone incredulous, his dark eyebrows shooting up testily. "Do you really want me to tell you that I don't give a rat's arse about how sorry you are? Do you want me to tell you how much it killed me to have you shut me out of your life? How much I agonized over it, trying to figure out what in the buggering fucks I had done to-"

"Stop!" Andromeda cried, shaking her head frantically, not wanting to hear the bitterness in his voice any longer. She didn't want him to confirm that she had indeed been the cause behind everything he had done since she had cut him out of her life so abruptly.

"No!" he growled, his steel eyes flashing. "You wanted me to say something, so I will. I will tell you exactly how far I've fallen, tell you exactly how much the pain, bitterness and resentment of your abandonment drove me to ignore every ounce of good sense and morality that I had once had, to squash every single instinct that had been screaming the wrongness of it all, and to turn to the exact same damned path my father had condemned himself to, that I condemned myself to and the horrors it brought upon poor Narcissa. You could have told me you know. We were the best of friends. We lo- I loved you. I would have understood, if you had told me you wanted to run off with the stupid, Hufflepuff boy. You could have at least had the common decency to tell me. Instead you screwed with both of us, leading me on, making me think you loved me as much as I you, all the while warming his—

_Slap! _Andromeda cradled her hand, eyes widening at the red blotch quickly darkening on Lucius's pale skin. She hadn't meant to slap him. She had just snapped, but she most certainly didn't regret it. He had no right to make her out as some kind of whore. She had never played them both. Ted, that stupid Hufflepuff, as Lucius oh so gallantly called him, had never attracted her, and she most certainly had never had sex with him.

"Oh, please don't tell me you're claiming you've never slept with him! You're sodding married to the fucking bastard!" Lucius growled. Andromeda's eyes widened realizing that she had said it all out loud. Well, she might as well just come out with it. There was no time like the present.

"He's gay for fucking sakes! He was more interested in sleeping with you than he ever has been in me!" Anromeda yelled.

"Then why the hell did you marry him?" he gritted out, just barely managing to keep his voice down. He would not yell at her. He would not yell. He would not _completely_ loose it.

"Because I had to!" Andromeda snapped, her face red.

"So you slept with a random man, ended up pregnant and he did you a fav—"

"No! No, you bloody arse. If you really want to know what the hell happened, then maybe you ought to shut up and bloody well listen!" Andromeda hissed, her dark eyes flashing dangerously as her patience wore thinner and the urge to hex his mouth off grew greater.

And so, effectively, although rather reluctantly, cowed Lucius pressed his lips firmly shut and stared expectantly at Andromeda. Andromeda shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and began her tale. Lucius having wanted to hear this for so many years listened attentively as she explained what had happened all those years ago.

"So let me be sure I am understanding this," Lucius sighed heavily, his head spinning from the information and emotional overload. "That night you went to that damned party, you spent the night at the Hufflepuff common room, and woke up not completely dressed, with a sore back, and bruises on your arms and legs amongst a group of similarly undressed bodies, and since no one seemed to be able to think past the horrendous hang overs you were all sporting, you all just assumed the worst? And then, you went on to assume that I would deny you, and decided for me that I deserved better anyway, and so decided to remove yourself from my life without a word. Thus cutting ties with everything and everyone, except Ted Tonks, who is actually gay.

"You two kept on being good friends and eventually became best friends and then you found out that your Uncle Alphard had caught dragon pox from his recently deceased wife, whom had only a few months before given birth to Nymphadora, and he wanted you to care for her, since you were the only capable, not evil, not completely unhinged Black, but to do so you would have to marry before he died, and Ted offered, since he wouldn't be able to marry a man if he were to find the one he were wont to marry. Then you agreed, and you both formed a happy home for Nymphadora. You've drowned yourself in the managing of the Black family matters and her upraising, and Ted has been dating on the side, and actually has a long-term lover, and therefore, she is well aware of the fact that she is adopted, and… I do believe that is all, did I miss anything?" Lucius finished, slightly out of breath, having said it all so fast and all at once

"No, I think you got it all," Andromeda sighed heavily, before her lips twisted upwards. "You really make me sound as if I had been completely daft. It was all overwhelming, and I had been so scared. It all seemed so silly once the war really got bad, but by then it was too late for me to try to make amends."

Lucius sighed, his fingers toying with the sheets pooled in his lap. "It's never too late to make amends, Andromeda. You still have a sister."

"I do believe I was given two sisters, Lucius, as you well know."

"Cissa only has one sister. That insane, heinous monstrosity that happened to follow you out of your mother's wom-"

"What did Bella do?" Andromeda's voice came out as a dangerous, low growl, causing Lucius's skin to break out in goosebumps. "Lucius, what did she do?" she snarled, her dark eyes flashing dangerously, daring him not to say anything.

Resigned, knowing that it wouldn't really make a difference whether he told her or not. She had always been frighteningly adept at gathering information, and Lucius doubted that particular talent had faded away any during the years. With the guilty weight still quite heavy in his chest, he strived to keep his voice even as he told Andromeda what darling Bellatrix had done to their baby sister, Narcissa. "Bellatrix had assumed that having been the one to present me to the Dark Lord for marking would mean that he would grant her the privilege of having me, but he didn't allow her to break her marriage bond with Lestrange. He wasn't willing to risk losing Lestrange. Instead, he had me wed Narcissa to uphold the marriage contract between our families. Bellatrix had never been stable, but none of us had ever thought she would seek such vicious retribution."

Eyes wide, lips parted in horror, imagining all the things her crazed sister could have done. "What did she do to Cissy, Lucius?" she asked, not bearing another second of the uncertainty.

"I had been so afraid she wouldn't make it," Lucius confessed, his eyes lost in the horrific memories of Cissa too pale, too frail struggling to open her eyes and return to the life of the living. Those had been the longest five months of Lucius's life. Never had he paid much attention to the youngest Black sister, but it had been at her bedside that he swore to protect his soon-to-be wife and be the rock that she would need once she was told the severity of her sister's attack. He would be her friend. He would do all in his power to ensure that she was happy. He would let her finish her studies, and give her the freedom she had lacked as a female Black. "I was so scared that her life would have been taken so brutally, all because I had been so utterly, stupid, so reckless, but Cissa pulled through. But she lost so much... She'll never be able to bear child. Bellatrix made sure of it..."

"That bitch," Andromeda hissed. The feel of Andromeda's raging magic pressed down heavily on Lucius. His jaw clenched, muscles taut, Lucius forced his magic down, not allowing it reach out and soothe hers as it instinctively sought to do. He was no longer Andromeda's rock. She had Ted, much like Narcissa now had Joseph-Michel Delacour, although the nature of their relationships couldn't be any more different. Andromeda's relationship with Ted couldn't be any more platonic, and Narcissa's with Joseph-Michel couldn't be any more passionate. They all had someone. Even Black had McKinnon now. Lucius frowned not liking the route his thoughts were taking. He didn't like it at all.

**A/N Anyways... sorry it's so much shorter, and mostly background story/set up for good-ish Lucius, but I'll start working on the next chapter either tonight or tomorrow, so it shouldn't be too long before the next update. **

**Please review and tell me what you think, yeah? **


	30. Belle of the Ball

**A/N Hey y'all! ^_^ It didn't take me insanely long this time! Aren't y'all proud of me? Anyways, this jumps ahead awhile and summarizes a bit, but I hope it's not too dull. Any who, please review! I greatly appreciate all of your reviews, so yes. **

**Anyways, thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites! I'm sorry if I missed anyone who reviewed. I really tried to reply to everyone who reviewed, but I waited a few days, and might have missed someone due to the lag.. so yeah, thank you so much! ^_^ **

"Hermione Rhea, breathe. You're not alone in this. I'll be ready to step in whenever needed, yes?" Lucius soothed the frazzled Hermione. His hands cradling her face, he forced her panicked eyes to meet his cool, grey gaze.

"I can do this. It's just a coming out ball. Just a coming out ball where people will be eyeing me up like the vicious vultures they a-"

"-and you look like an absolutely exquisite would-be delicacy," he cut in quite efficiently, his flippant tone effectively halting her breakdown. "If you weren't very much alive, that is. Such a pity those vultures won't be able to devour our beloved-" his face contorted with the effort it would take to use the horribly common pet name she so loved, "-_Mia." _

Hermione grinned brightly, knowing exactly how much he abhorred the nickname he had just uttered. Instead of narrowing his eyes, as many would expect, at her face-splitting grin, Lucius merely rolled his eyes at the ludicrous amount of giddiness such a small gesture had engendered. Nonetheless, he was relieved to see she had relaxed a bit, even if it was only a smidge.

He was actually surprised that it was something as inane as a coming out ball that had sent her into a tizzy. So much had happened and been done in the past week that a silly little ball should have been nothing more than a mere gnat buzzing a good seven metres away from her. Even the formal announcement of the alliance between the Malfoy and Potter families, just the day before, had fazed him more than it had her! The only time she had seemed even the slightest bit nervous was during Black and McKinnon's public interview, and although they had been a bit lacking in the decorum required for such a momentous occasion, it had gotten the job done.

Officially, there were no "ill feelings between House Malfoy and House Black, since Narcissa Malfoy had only done her duty as a Black and cared for the Heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, Draco Alexander Black." At least that's what had been printed, the dirty looks Black and McKinnon had sent Lucius's way whenever they were out of public sight said otherwise, but as Hermione said the Wizarding World didn't need to know, and they would all do well to behave like civilized human beings. Loathe as they were all to admit, she was right, of course, and all three of them had carried themselves admirably in front of the press. Yet Hermione Rhea had still been in a woeful, beautifully-contained fit of nerves leading up to, and if his observations were precise, during, and the few seconds after the interview before she managed to reign herself in and be the epitome of calm, collected grace as Draco approached her with a wide smile, clearly ecstatic.

In that occasion it had been clear that she had not wanted Draco to see that she had been bothered by something, but the question remained... What exactly had bothered Hermione Rhea about the interview? It wasn't as if she could have expected any better from Black and McKinnon. They had never really cared much for the decorum required for members of their station, and, as if that weren't enough, they had been isolated from the scene for over a decade, there was no way that they could have just jumped back in with impeccable grace and managed to cross all the T's and dot every single one of the I's. It would have been irrational to expect such a thing, and Hermione Rhea was nothing if not logical.

No, something else had to have been bothering her, and Lucius hadn't the slightest idea as to what it could have been, and so didn't have the slightest inkling as to what could have her in such a state now. She had calmed considerably, but her unease was still clearly evident to anyone paying even the slightest bit of attention to her face, although, with how beautifully the dress suited her complexion, and the wonders the training and potions had been doing for her rapidly improving form, many men would be setting their eyes on anything and everything south of her face. Maybe...

No. No, that wasn't it. Lucius knew she handled being the focus of many well, so knew that the attention she was bound to be showered in would not have her in such a state. She was also quite confident in her ability to avoid any faux pas, so she couldn't be so anxious at the prospect of having to mingle with all of her guests. Maybe... could it be? No, the interview had not required any dancing, so that couldn't have been what had been bothering her then. However, dancing could very well be what has her so frazzled about the ball. Perhaps she didn't know how to dance, and it was the fact that she didn't know something that had her on the verge of the breakdown. That would make sense. Lucius nodded satisfied with his conclusion. Now, it was just a matter of appeasing her unease at not knowing how to dance. After all, she had nothing to worry about as long as she could follow the lead.

"You know, it's really inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Many people aren't- What I'm trying to say is it's not entirely unexpected, and there's no reason to make such a fuss out of it," Lucius intoned softly, his voice knowing. Hermione's eyes widened, her heart beat accelerating to ridiculous speeds, the panic she had tried so hard to control escaped into her veins, coursing through her body causing it to tremble.

"What?" she croaked, blinking furiously trying to get rid of the haze her emotional spike had birthed.

"The key to dancing, for follows at least, is to be able to let yourself be led through the dance. Just follow, and the lead will..."

"Oh," she chuckled breathlessly. "Of course.. just have to follow. Follow. I can do that. Thank you Lucius," she smiled weakly, the air rushing back into her lungs.

She swallowed the urge to chuckle with relief. Of course he didn't know what was going through her head. She wasn't known for being particularly ridiculous, so it came with little surprise that no one really had an inkling of what had her in such an embarrassingly obvious, frazzled state. She was sure they would all chastise her for being so utterly stupid, but she couldn't help it. Her Dragon had officially and quite publicly regained his loving family, and half of his new found family didn't like her in the least. She was officially not liked by her prospective family-to-be (it was more her future mother-in-law, she knew, but "happy wife, happy life.")

Draco would be so much better off with just about anyone else. His life would be a hundred times easier, and her godmother would be ecstatic about not having to have her around any longer. And the ball was the perfect opportunity for her godmother. He had already been quite the prospect as a Malfoy, but the announcement of him being the Black heir had made him even more desirable. If it wasn't the prestige of his name, then the way the Prophet's pictures showcased his reacquired physical traits certainly ensured that he was without a doubt one of Britain's most coveted bachelors. Now, at the Ball, Draco would meet, dance, and mingle with quite a few of the besotted witches, all of which Marlene was sure to like a thousand times more than her, and all of them, most assuredly, wouldn't be anywhere near as damaged as she.

"Mr. Longbottom, you're supposed to b-"

"Downstairs greeting the guests alongside my father, and wait for you to escort her down. I know. I just- I felt- I wanted to- I needed to-" Neville's face grew redder by the as he scoured his brain for the right words, but he couldn't. He couldn't put into words what had led him to seek Hermione out. He had been greeting the Greengrasses alongside Harry and his Dad when he had felt it. He needed to go to her.

"Very well," Lucius sighed, hoping that the Longbottom boy would be able to calm Hermione Rhea. After her reaction to his _advice_, he had realized that he had been completely mistaken. Something of much greater consequence was what had her so anxious, and it was his hope that someone closer to her age who had known her for far longer than he would be able to acquiesce her fears.

With a regal nod of his blond head, Lucius stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him, leaving them both. Brown meeting hazel, unwavering they stared at each other, waiting, hoping that the other would break the suffocating stillness that had settled into the room. Finally, Neville rushed toward Hermione, picking her up, and crushing her now only just too thin body in a bear-worthy hug.

Exhaling a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, Neville relaxed, a pleasant smile gracing his lips at the feel of Mia's hands gripping tightly onto the fabric of his jacket. Rubbing her back in soothing circles, Neville waited for her to speak, knowing, somehow, that she would tell him what was wrong.

"I'm scared of losing him, Nev. I know it's not logical, and that he'll tell me it's stupid, but I'm so scared. I-I'd let him go, and I'd hate myself for it, but I know... I know he'd be so much better off with someone else, anyone else. And Marlene would be ecstatic. She hates me...I know she's trying to accept that I'm not what she expected me to be, and that you all want to believe that she doesn't _really_ hate me, and that she's just trying to adjust to the idea of being back in Britain and having a family again, but it's not that."

Neville tugged her a little harder against him knowing how much it hurt her that she was right regarding Marlene. Neville knew she had been trying to be more amiable towards his Mia, and she had been a lot nicer, but Marlene was most definitely a true Gryffindor. She wore her heart on her sleeve. Her still fervent dislike for Mia was very much so evident on her face. Neville knew that Hermione's fear of losing Draco was completely unfounded, considering the fact that he didn't have eyes for anyone but her. Nevertheless, he knew she needed to get it all out. He knew how it felt to keep all of his insecurities clamped inside of himself, the pressure of his emotions pressing against every fiber of his being, making it feel as if he were on the verge of imploding with every passing instant... Well, until he accepted that Mia really did care for him, and wasn't just around him out of pity. It was then that he had unloaded on her, and she had listened to every single word he had said, and that had made all the difference.

Now, he was going to do the same for her. Neville felt her take a deep breath before she continued, her voice heart-breakingly resigned. "I'm not sweet or innocent. I'm sure that with time she'll grow to respect the fact that I am an intellectual asset to the Claws, but she won't ever be completely alright with me. I'm a stranger now. She won't accept that her son won't be with the Rhea she remembers and thought her goddaughter would grow up to be. She'd probably like me if I weren't the one making the plans that could mean the end of the family... But I am, and I can't be who she wants me to be.

"Nev, this Ball is the perfect place to become infatuated, and I seriously doubt that there is a single girl in there who wouldn't be better, who Marlene wouldn't want more for Draco than she does me. There's loads of prettier, less damaged witches just outside the door, and I'm going to have to watch with a pretty little smile on my face as she approves of them like she never will me, and pushes Draco to dance and play nice with them. One of them will stick... One of them will blow them all away, and I'll just be there. Smiling, laughing, dancing, as if nothing were wrong, when, in reality, the opposite is true."

"Mia, you do know he doesn't see anyone but you, right?" Neville spoke softly, his voice low and soothing. "To him, and a whole lot of others, you are the most exquisite creature to have ever set foot on the earth. You're beautiful, strong, independent, bloody brilliant. We all know Marlene wishes her wittle Dwagon were with some simpering, air-headed witch that would wait on his hand and foot, BUT we also know that he'd tell and has told her, quite a few times, to sod off. He may be a Black, but he grew up as a Malfoy. Malfoy's get what they want, and he wants you. I know you doubt it, but he wants you Mia, more than anything in the world. You can ask anyone. As much as it killed us at first, we can all see it. You're his world, Mia. Never doubt that." Neville smiled softly as he felt her nod against his chest, her breathing calm, her body relaxing as his words had the intended effect.

He had no idea how much time had passed, but it couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes considering the fact that Lucius hadn't yet told them it was time for Hermione's presentation. Hermione pulled away from Neville's embrace, a warm smile playing on her lips.

"Thanks Nev, I needed that."

...About One Hour Later...

Draco was desperate to have his little witch in his arms. Her presentation had been absolute torture. Watching her glide down the stairs on Lucius's arm, the beautiful, deep purple silk contrasting beautifully with her vibrant, deep red curls, the faint glow of the flames she could never completely suppress, giving her an ethereal look. He itched to replace the very dress that so perfectly draped over her sun-kissed skin with his hands and lips. She looked like an absolute goddess, and he had every intention of adoring her with utmost veneration, but that would have to wait.

He would have to wait. And wait he had, and waiting he still was. As if all the waiting he had done hadn't been enough. He had waited as she was presented to all as Head of House of quite a few Most Ancient and Noble Houses. He had waited as she greeted each and every single one of her guests. He had waited as she spoke and mingled with all of the old and not so old lecherous men. And, now, he was stuck, waiting, sitting three whole seats away from her, Lucius and his own dad sitting between him and his witch. It just wasn't fair. Harry got to sit next to her, why couldn't he?

"Pssst."

Draco's eyebrow twitched at the irritating sound his father made. Couldn't he, at least, be left to pout in peace? Just as he was about to tell his dad to bugger off, Sirius leaned into him, their faces only a few centimeters apart, irritated mercurial eyes boring into their overwhelmingly mirthful reflection.

"Lucius told me to tell you that the oh so greatest Mia told him to tell me to tell you that she is on the verge of going mad and breaching etiquette in a manner most inappropriate for the dinner table. She also said that if you are the one to push her to breach etiquette anytime during this ball she swears you won't be in a position to even come close to breaching anything any time soon," Sirius whispered, trying very very hard to keep his voice level and not breaking into guffaws as he wished he could, especially at the sight of his son's suddenly pale face and obscenely wide eyes. Then again, he had been in the doghouse often enough to understand his son's reaction.

Soon enough Draco's pout turned into a naughty smirk. Apparently he wasn't the only one going crazy, his Mia was too, and he was more than willing to toe the line she had drawn all throughout dinner until he could finally steal her away on the dance floor. She would be in his arms, their bodies pressed together, swaying and spinning to the compass of the music. He wouldn't let her go once she had given out the dances required of her. She would roll her eyes at his possessiveness, but then she would smile that sweet little smile that was just for him. First, however, he'd drive her wild. His spirits replenished, Draco exchanged a mischievous smile with his beautiful angel princess, the glint in both their eyes effectively conveying the message: "Let the games begin!"

...After the Ball...

The instant the last of the guests had left, Draco rushed to Hermione's side, crashing into her before lifting her up from the waist, twirling her round and round, causing her long dress to flare outwards, wrapping itself around his legs. Several pairs of wide eyes stared at the now wobbling but still twirling couple, all waiting for the inevitable. Sure enough, not a second later a loud groan followed by merry giggling was heard.

"Think that's funny don't you," Draco growled to the giggling red-headed witch on top of him. The giggles that had turned into full out laughter were enough of an answer for those watching the two, and apparently it had been enough of an answer for Draco as well. A full on pout on his lips, he growled loudly before tackling the witch and his long fingers attacked her ribs, tickling her merclessly.

"No, Draco. Stop! It's not fair! Mercy! Mercy!" Hermione cried, her voice breathy from all the laughing.

"Hmmm, I don't know this is quite fun Mia," Draco purred, his fingers slowing to a soft caress, uncaring of the public they still had.

"Draco!" Hermione squealed, giggling at the blush-inducing, oh so very fun things he was projecting into their mind.

"I may have to live with the knowledge that there will be no separating you two, but I do not have to bear witness to such a revolting sight," Marlene's low hiss filled the suddenly silent room, sucking up all traces merriment more effectively than a horde of dementors.

For what seemed like hours they all stood there staring at Marlene in shock. She had done so well, abstaining from open hostility, that none of them had expected such an outburst from her, at least not in front of their Mia.

"Gred, I finally see why they say all those things about mother's in laws," Fred stage whispered to George.

"True, Forge dear. True bints they are. Who would've thought they could be such slimy, poisonous snakes," George whispered back, causing Marlene's face to redden in fury.

"Though maybe she's just impatient-"

"-they were taking a while to get to the good stuff-"

"-didn't even get a good snog in-"

"-the anticipation was stifling-"

"-Sure wound us up, eh Gred?" Fred grinned, lecherously waggling their eyebrows at each other before turning to a sputtering Marlene.

"What's wrong? Not much of a voyeur, Marlene dear?" the twins intoned, smirking at the flustered witch.

"Fred, George, stop. Now, I think Marlene and I have a brutally honest talk that is long overdue," Hermione's quiet, but undeniably firm voice sliced through the twins' onslaught.

Everyone turned to look at Hermione, unsure if they had heard correctly. The last thing they wanted to do now was leave their Mia with the emotionally unstable Marlene. They still couldn't quite pin down what exactly she felt towards her goddaughter. They watched in silence as she nodded to Draco, seemingly reassuring him. Although considering the heated kiss he pulled her into before heading upstairs, he wasn't entirely content with leaving the two of them alone to deck out their problems. However, seeing as her soulmate had headed upstairs, they really couldn't see any way to refuse her unspoken request, and followed Draco, leaving Hermione and Marlene to sort everything out.

"You sure you don't want your little fierce protector by your side? Or is my son off duty? I'm sure my dad is more than willing to protect you from the evil witch," Marlene sneered, her face contorting with rage.

"Alright, let's just get this over with. I get it! Okay? I get that you hate what I am, what I've become. You hate that I'm not the innocent, sweet, loving child you remember. I KNOW that it irks you more than anything that despite how I turned out, despite the fact that I'm a 'bossy, know-it-all twit with delusions of grandeur,' as you love telling Uncle Siri, everyone treats me as if I were the Mia that they lost and found. I know that you hate me, okay. I get that you don't want me to be anywhere near your son, or anywhere around anyone, really," Hermione sighed, getting ready to finally saying what had been on her mind for quite a while now.

"I get it, and honestly I am sick of all of your so called pussyfooting. You're not discreet in the slightest, and I really think you might just need to ask Uncle Fili for a refresher on silencing charms," Marlene opened her mouth ready to let out a litany of insults, but before she could take a breath to get started, Hermione continued. "I'm not done! You're a complete mess and you're dragging everybody down with your hot and cold bitch of an attitude. I won't lie and tell you that it doesn't hurt that you won't accept who I am because, honestly it does, but more than anything what's eating at me is that you refuse to see how sodding hypocritical you are! You're not the aunty Marly that I remember. Sure you're hotheaded and protective, but in case you haven't noticed you aren't the kind-hearted, carefree, bundle of sunshine you used to be! If anything I'm pretty sure you digressed to the spoiled, attention seeking little brat of a toddler I'm sure you were.

Don't even bother denying it! YOUR husband never takes your side. YOUR dad always chooses me over you. YOUR son doesn't even pay you any attention. YOUR god daughter disappeared. That's what this is all about. You're so set in seeing things like that, that you can't help yourself and you have to throw fit after fit and hope that maybe Uncle Siri will take your side this time. Maybe Dragon will actually turn to look at you. Maybe this time Papa Tommy will stand up, tell you you're right, and set me straight, but god damn it Marlene you're not a a child anymore. You're not a teenager. You're not the young woman from over 13 years ago! Grow up for Merlin's sake! Don't begrudge everybody else doing the very thing you have failed to do in all your time away! We've all coped and adapted. It's past overdue you do so as well, or else you'll never fit in and you'll just keep pushing everyone away."

Hermione's eyes flashed gold as she reigned in the flames that were dancing around her seething frame, waiting for Marlene's comeback. Marlene's nostrils flared as she struggled to find something, anything, to say, but what could she say? Every single thing Hermione had said had hit home and it had hit hard. Without a word, nostrils flaring, Marlene stomped up to her room and slammed the door. Hermione cringed at the sound, but immediately felt the tension that had been building up for so long, release. It may have been because she had finally gotten so much off her chest, but she had a feeling things between her godmother and her would run a lot more smoothly now.

**a/n: okay so I know this is terribly short and uninteresting, but it's been so long since I've written and I had this written out for so long but I hadn't read it over, so I decided after a quick read through that I'm going to post this chapter and start the next one from scratch and make it up to you guys there. Since I'm free of the woes of the quarter system, the update shouldn't take longer than a week. I am setting a week as my deadline, so that should prompt my lazy ass into action. **

**Anyways, I'm sorry this chapter isn't anything special or much more than a total freak out, but originally there was a lot more to this chapter and I've been so out of it for so long that it's just not going to happen here. Nonetheless, please review and thank you for your patience. ^_^ I'll see y'all soon. Promise. **


	31. Royal Apparation

**A/N Hey y'all so as promised, here it is! It's been a little bit more than a week, but I didn't want to post a chapter in the middle of the holidays... I may or may not have forgotten that they were a thing until family started showing up and invading my space. LOL Anyways, I hope you guys like it. ^_^**

**...In the forest, about fifteen minutes after the argument...**

Like a walking torch, the golden-red glow of her hair and skin lit up the forest as she stalked through it. Despite being certain that her relationship with her godmother would finally be on the mend, she was incensed. She hated that she had had to stoop so low. She hated that she had had to yell, practically scream, at her godmother because she had been acting so poorly. She hated that she had had to replace her mother in that sense. Her mother had always acted as Marlene's voice of reason, the one to keep her in check. It didn't work that well when they'd both get irrationally jealous, then they'd just feed off of each other. Nonetheless, Hermione despised the fact that it had gotten to the point where she had had to scream some sense into Marlene. She was not the adult, Marlene was! Not that she could say she had acted like the mature person she prided herself in being. If she had been mature about it, she wouldn't have yelled, she would have tried to rationalize with Marlene, and tried to sort everything out calmly and in private.

Not too much deeper in the forest, just on the outskirts of the Potter grounds, a pair of round, big, amber eyes watched amused as his chosen fumed through the dark. He had been in the spot they had first met, waiting. Ever since he had felt her return, he had been there, hoping that she would wander far enough outside the wards. For weeks on end her had been vigilant, watched her as she trained with her friends and waited patiently at first and then rather impatiently for her to allow her soul and magic free reign. The mere act of watching the ungodly amount of control and discipline she exercised, was truly taxing. He could see it in every movement she made, every breath she took; everything she did, everything she said, everything she felt was measured, planned, restrained. It was truly magnificent, for very few creatures had such mastery over their mind and body, yet it was one of her greatest weaknesses. It left her confined, limited to her companion's restricted capabilities.

She sought to level the field, when she ought to exploit their strengths, push their limits, and eradicate or compensate for any weaknesses, but that would be of little matter if she could not allow her magic to do as it wished. She would be handicapped in battle, spelling out disaster for them all. Yes, they had much to discuss, but first they had to meet. What was taking her so long? Had she not been following his call for a while now? Any further complaints died on his beak, seeing her glowing eyes, wide yet unafraid, from a short distance.

"Long time no see," Hermione said softly, approaching the proud, majestic creature before her. "Though I'd imagine time doesn't quite pass the same for someone who has seen so many centuries pass."

"Quite," he warbled into her mind. "Now come and sit little one," he crooned. "We have much to discuss, and I only hope you heed my advice."

"Of course," she said as she sat on a lifted trunk before him. "It would be most foolish on my part to disregard your wise words."

"Flatter," he smiled before settling in front of her. They were in for a long talk.

**...A few hours later, Hermione's room...**

Draco sighed in relief as Hermione tiptoed back into the room. He had heard his mother slam the door to her bedroom, and had expected Mia to return to the room soon after, but the house had been silent for a few tense moments until the opening and closing of a door echoed through the manor. Like gophers poking out of their holes, everybody, save for Marlene, had poked their head out of their room trying to see what had happened. It would have been quite comical if they had been able to catch sight of their Mia and laugh it off, but they hadn't, and 'worried' could not have even begun to describe how they were feeling. They had heard everything, and they knew she needed some space. Draco, more than the others, had had to bite down on the urge to go after her. He was worried about her, and disappointed in himself. He hadn't realized how big of an impact his mother's disapproval had had on his Mia. He hadn't realized that she was so uncertain of them. He hadn't even had an inkling of the toll all the drama with his mother had had on her. He was just glad that she was back from wherever she had been, and he would make sure that she understood how important she was to him. He would make sure that she knew that she wouldn't get rid of him any time soon, and that she would have to try really, really hard to get him to leave her alone because he was a persistent bugger.

"Draco, you're awake!" Mia whisper-shouted across the room, when she had caught sight of his mercurial eyes pinned onto her silent form. Her glowing, multi-colored eyes widened as his silver eyes glinted predatorily.

"But of course, bella Mia," he purred, crawling over the covers towards her. "I couldn't possibly sleep without you in my arms," he said softly, stalking to where she stood frozen, eyes wide, heart thrumming. "If it were up to me, you'd never be outside of arm's reach. It'd be you in my arms, in bed forever and always," he breathed into her ear, his arms pulling her into his body by the waist.

She was going to tell him something. What had she wanted to tell him when she realized he was awake? Why did he have to be so damn flirty? This whole bond thing was really distracting, especially when he'd let it all just wash over her like that. It made thinking really, really hard. Then again, maybe thinking was overrated. She was supposed to let go, wasn't she? That's what the Royal Creature, the royal Gryffin, had said. Oh! That's what she was going to tell him!

"Mia, stop thinking," Draco groaned, moving to nibble on her ear, trying to get her attention back onto him.

"Dragon," Hermione giggled, already picturing the monumental pout that would soon appear on his face. "Don't you want to hear about my walk through the forest?" she sing-songed, pulling her ear away from his attentive lips.

"And here thought my beautiful, gracious angel princess wasn't cruel," he sighed heavily, the biggest pout forming on his lips as he faced her with mournful eyes.

"Well, if you don't care about my frolick past the wards and deep into the forest with creatures unknown, then by all means," Mia shrugged, turning her head away before Draco caught sight of her mirthful eyes.

"You what?! Mia! Why would you?You could've been hurt! And what's worse, we wouldn't have known if anything happened!" Draco exploded, grabbing hold of her arms to check her over frantically. His breathing accelerated to a most worrying rate, and instantly she regretted having told him she had gone so deep into the forest in such a flippant manner. In her defense, however, she definitely had not expected that reaction from him. She had only meant to pique his interest, and distract him enough to be able to tell him of her encounter with the Royal Creature.

"Dragon, breathe," she crooned but his hold on her arms didn't loosen. Slowly getting frustrated with his fussing, she tried to wiggle out of his hold but he wouldn't budge. "Draco! I'm fine. I'm here, with you, aren't I?" she hissed, trying to keep her voice down and not wake the entire household. It was either the tone of her voice or the frustration that had spilled from her mind into his, but he finally reacted and moved his hold to her waist. A couple of minutes had passed, but he still wasn't letting up. At least he wasn't on the verge of hyperventilating, but still! "Oh honestly! Can't you let go?" Hermione huffed wiggling in his arms.

"Never," Draco grinned, having calmed down already, "but I guess we should probably move to the bed, and then you can tell me about your walk."

Hermione rolled her eyes, but let him half-carry, half-drag her to the bed. She settled into his chest before she told him how she found a great, golden gryffin, the Royal Creature, in the forest, in the exact same spot where she had first seen him. She told him how he had told her that she needed to get her head out of her arse and grant her magic the freedom she and it had been denied for over a decade. She told him how he had told her that she would be incapable of many things until she fully embrace all of her magic, including the magic granted to her as His Chosen. She recounted how he had told her to focus on a solid foundation for all and then move onto strengthening weaknesses, exercising strengths, and pushing limits.

He listened as she admitted that she had needed to be told off for being so restrained, and how she had been afraid of her abilities and the power granted to her as, for all intents and purposes, Princess of Creatures. He grinned as she confessed that she'd need him to keep her in check, since in order to let her magic free, she'd have to let her emotions run, at least until she learned to 'get a grip, without choking Magic.' He really couldn't wait to see her and her magic uninhibited. It would be quite the sight he was sure. Just the thought of the elements dancing around her, magic flaring around her oh so sweet form...

"Stop perving, Dragon," Mia blushed, squirming in his hold that suddenly seemed all too warm.

"Is it terribly distracting?" he asked innocently, his hands running down her silk-covered legs.

"Yes," she twisted around to face him, her arms winding around his neck, "it is actually."

"You're right, terribly distracting," he murmured before hungrily pressing his lips to hers.

She responded in kind, letting the sensations flow over her. She could get used to this whole letting go thing, especially if it felt this good. Hot kisses, gave way to wandering caresses, and the soul bound couple was more than a little dazed by the overwhelming pull of their bond. The heat and need engendered by it threatened to consume them. Emboldened by the intensity of the sensations, Draco shifted their position so he would be on top, but much as it had earlier in the evening, the long skirt of Hermione's ball gown had become entangled with Draco's legs. Ripppp! Draco clenched his eyes shut as he realized that, much like him, the sound of her dress ripping had quite efficiently ripped her away from her daze.

"Draco Alexander Black! My dress!" Hermione growled, her eyes narrowed.

"Oops?" he smiled. Her hair flared. "I didn't mean to, but obviously your dress doesn't like me. It nearly killed me earlier, and now it killed the mood!" he defended, putting on his best pitiful face. He really didn't fancy her being angry over her ruined dress. It's not like he had purposefully ripped it. He hadn't ripped it off, like he had wanted to when he had first seen it on her. This dress ripping had been an honest mistake.

"And a good thing too!" she snapped, blushing brightly.

"So you're not angry about the dress, then?" he asked hopefully.

"I am upset about my dress, but..." Hermione blushed brighter but knew she they had to talk about this. If it was always going to be this charged between them..."I don't think we would have stopped otherwise," Hermione admitted heavily.

"Would it really be so terrible to be married to me?" Draco asked softly, his voice unbearably vulnerable.

"Dragon you should know nothing would make me happier." Sincerity shining in her words, she pressed a sweet kiss to his jaw.

"But?" he sighed heavily.

"But," she smiled sadly, "can you honestly say it's the right time to be married? Our bond would become public knowledge, and would be used against us; Harry most definitely is not ready to take on his Lordships; and we've still got a lot to learn about each other too..." Hermione sighed before her eyes narrowed playfully. "Yet, you, dear sir, have the ever so frustrating habit of making it terribly difficult to stay away and just about impossible to think logically." Draco smirked widely.

"Hmm, then I shall endeavour to never change my habits, milady. After all there are worse things than being accused of being distractingly irresistible," he purred, nuzzling the crook of her neck.

Soft giggles, a few playful kisses, and an evil plan to wake the household at ungodly hours later, the pair found themselves happily asleep in each other's arms unaware of the "Leader of the Light's" nefarious plans.

**...Hogwarts, Dumbledore's office...**

He had never been more grateful for Hogwarts' sovereignty.. At least, he could be sure that his plans at school would remain intact. He could still make it so that things went the way he desired them to. Not all was lost, Lady Potter and all of her political savviness could not mess things up here. No, the ministry had no say in Hogwarts' business, and he would make sure to make full use of that little fact. Oh, he couldn't wait to see the look on the Potters' faces once they realized he had hired Umbridge for the DADA position. Apparently, the ministry had had plans in place just on the off chance that they would be able to infiltrate the school, and with the bit of tweaking he had done, he was sure that the Potter girl, in particular, would be absolutely miserable.

He had felt the tug on his magical core when every single enchantment, ritual, tracker, and compulsion he had ever performed on the girl had been very quite brutally and thoroughly destroyed. Even the magic he had tied to his own core had been ripped away, so it was safe to say that that girl had most definitely moved to the very top of his hit list. She had already been on it due to the overall nuisance her mere existence presented, but this little stunt that had undone all his hard work had moved her up to the very top. He only hoped that the others had not listened to her if she had told them the role he had played in her not so pretty life with the wasn't naive enough to believe that she would leave things be, and she had never gone along to his plans, so Dumbledore officially counted her as an enemy.

He could only hope that the little bitch wouldn't convince them to move over to her side because he would really hate to have to do away with Black, Lupin, Tonks, and the Weasley twins. That would spell complete disaster, since that would effectively do away with nearly half the Order, find a new headquarters, lose the metamorphmagus, and risk losing Molly and in turn lose Ron and Ginny, which would lose him leverage over young Harry. It was simply much too messy, and it would be near impossible to make it inconspicuous enough to avoid investigation. No, he really did not want to have to resort to such measures...

He would have to wait until school started, and the adults returned from Potter Manor. He would gauge the damage done then. He would still be making sure that the little twit was resorted. He couldn't have her influencing her brother any more than she already had. It would make it a lot easier to do containment if she was away from all of her little friends. Yes, everything would be just fine. He was still the one in control here, and Umbridge would make sure this became a well-known fact in all of Hogwarts. It would all be for the students' sake and creating a harmonious atmosphere, of course. He would make her Hogwarts High Inquisitor, in charge of discipline. He would give a whole, well-meaning speech about unity and order for the greater good, and hand the reigns over to Umbridge. McGonnagall would give him a hard time for it. Discipline had been the only thing he was in charge of, since he had dumped all of his work as headmaster to her. Maybe he would be able to appease her by taking some of the paperwork back...

Yes, she was always complaining about how full her schedule was, and how she never had time to do anything but her head of house duties and HIS duties as headmaster. Not to mention the fact that she was always on his case for not enforcing discipline. At least he could argue the need for Umbridge as High Inquisitor, but he might have to take back ALL of his duties as headmaster if she was too incensed. After all, Minerva McGonnagall was not a witch to be reckoned with, especially since Filius and Poppy were always right behind her. After so many years they were still the closest of friends. There had been nothing in his power to break them up, so he had accepted that the best way to keep them complacent and blind to his doings was to simply keep all three of them content.

**...Hogwarts, Umbridge's Office...**

She had finally put up the last kitten surveillance plate in place, well that's what she had taken to calling them. They had been enchanted to be her eyes and ears, so she felt the name was apt. Originally, they had been scattered in very convenient locations throughout the ministry throughout her years there. They had served her well, very well. Sadly, she had been forced to give up her hopes to implement her nifty little system here at Hogwarts, it seemed that the school itself rejected them. Every single time she would put them somewhere in the castle other than her office or classroom she would come back to find them sitting innocuously on her desk or on her bed or sometimes they would even be jetted right back at her just as she finished securing them in place. At least she'd know what was happening in her office and classroom, but she was sorely disappointed thus far. She had had such dreams for her system at the school, but apparently it was not meant to be. No matter, she would move forward and terrorize the little whelps just as Albus wanted. Well, he wanted to focus on Lady Potter, but she couldn't be blatantly obvious! No, she would make sure to be above reproach, at least when it came to being accused of being biased or vindictive.

**...Malfoy Manor...**

She had finally arrived back to the Manor. Lucius had sent her an owl telling her that she needn't return early, but she wanted to spend time with Draco before he went off to school. She had missed her little boy. She had to admit she had become a little too attached to the boy when he had first come into her life, but he had been the only light that had come into the darkness that her life had become. Sure she had had a great friend in Lucius but he didn't need her. Draco had needed her. He had given her a purpose. He had been hers to protect, despite the fact she could never have a child of her own. Despite it all, she had been given a child, and she could at least have one of the loves her heart had desired. Now, she had the other, Joseph Michel. She finally had the two loves she had always sought, and she was ecstatic, but at the same time she was worried. Lucius had been quite cold toward him in the past few years, and she had stayed in France for much longer than she had anticipated. She didn't want him to feel unloved or lonely. The Nott and Zabini boys had both gone overseas for the summer to get away from the turmoil in England; he didn't like spending more time than necessary with Pansy; and Vincent and Goyle weren't exactly willing to take any visitors, the less attention on them, the better.

"Poppy? Poppy, where is my son?" Narcissa called once she realized that the manor was completely empty.

A very nervous elf popped in front of the increasingly more frantic witch. Wrangling her hands Poppy softly informed her that she could not say where the Masters were. At Narcissa's look of complete ire, Poppy popped away before telling Narcissa that she needn't worry for the Masters, since they were both safe and well. Therefore, it was a completely distraught, blubbering witch whom Joseph Michel found. He had used his brother's influence in France to get a good month's worth of vacation, and an emergency international portkey to just outside the Malfoy wards. Despite the fact that he had been admitted into the wards by Lucius, the hasty note Narcissa had sent him had told him nothing of the situation, and he was not stupid enough to risk injury for making the rookie mistake of showing up directly on scene. It simply would not do for the cavalry to end up hurt before the rescue could even be attempted.

"'Cissa, ma chère, qu'est-ce qui passe? What 'as 'appened? Are you 'urt?" he rushed to her, wand still at the ready, in case there was danger lurking. He hadn't become France's top hit wizard without being vigilant.

"They're gone! Elves can't find them, and I don't know where they are! What if they're hurt?" Narcissa cried frantically.

Joseph held her, rubbing her back in circles and waited for her to calm down, as his mind whirled, trying to figure out what had happened. If the elves had specifically told her that they could not find them, then they were either dead, or under elf-specific wards or under the fidelus in which case they should be able to sense whether they are alive or not. Now, if they elves had not told her that they could not find them, then it could have been that they were instructed to not reveal their position, but they could still be reached via owl or an elf could also be sent with a message. Now, the house from what he could see showed no signs of forced entry or of quarrel; therefore, it was not too likely that they were taken against their will. Joseph waited until Narcissa had calmed to bring up the subject of the missing Malfoys and how to proceed with the search.

"Ma chere, 'ave you asked zhe elves whezher zhey know where zhey are et eef zhey are well?" Joseph asked in a no nonsense voice, hoping that the professional tone would keep her from falling apart again.

"No..." Narcissa blinked. "Poppy just said that she couldn't tell me where they are."

"Maybe zhe elves were told not to zay where zhey are."

At that, Narcissa's eyes widened. "Poppy!" she yelled.

"Yes Missy Cissa?" a very nervous Poppy asked. Poppy only hoped that Narcissa would not order Poppy to take Missy Cissa to the Masters. Masters had only forbids Poppy from telling anyone where Masters were, nothing else. Poppy would be forced to take Missy Cissa to the Manor, and then Missy Mia would has to deal with Missy Cissa and Bad Missy Marly. Missy Mia would be sads again, and Poppy didn't wants Missy Mia to be sads. Missy Mia bes too kind to bes sad.

"If you have the _capability_, you will take us, Joseph and I, _directly_ to Lucius and Draco," Narcissa ordered firmly, much to the shock of both Joseph Michel and Poppy.

Mournfully, and before Joseph Michel could even think to argue the folly of such move, Poppy took each by the hand and focused on popping directly to the Masters; however much to her relief and the surprise of her two passengers, they all felt the pull of magic as they were redirected to a dark, cold room. Landing on all fours, Narcissa and Joseph Michel could do nothing to stop Poppy as she popped away to find Missy Mia to tell her who was in Potter Manor's most secure holding room.

"Missy Mia Miss! Missy Mia Miss!" Poppy cried at the sight of Missy Mia heading toward the holding room accompanied by stern-faced males, wands at the ready.

"Poppy! I felt it was you! Thank Merlin you're alr-"

"Poppy bes so sorry Missy Mia! Missy Cissa made Poppy dos it! But Poppy bes so happy Missy Mia Miss bes so smart. Now Missy Cissa and her Josey bes in the holdy room!" Poppy sobbed into Mia's legs.

"Poppy don't cry," Mia intoned softly, rubbing on the distraught elf's back. "You did exactly what you were supposed to do. Everything's fine. Or it will be once we go talk to them, alright?" Poppy sniffled, calming quickly at her Princess's reassurances. Missy Mia was calms and not sads at all. "You know what would really come in handy? Do you think you can take a tray of your calming tea down to the holding room in a few minutes? I think we're all going to need it." Poppy perked up immensely at her words. Nodding fervently, the little elf popped away, happy to help Missy Mia Miss.

"What the hell?" Sirius growled out from the back of the little entourage that had ended up hurrying after the serious-faced Mia. He was starting to think that maybe they should have gone to get the others. It was starting to sound like something was seriously wrong. Then again, he should have known it was serious when she hadn't even bothered to slow her gait, despite the fact that she knew they had begun following her the instant she had stalked past them in the dueling room.

"I suppose we weel 'ave to find out, non?" Fleur shrugged, before hurrying after Mia whom had already continued on her way.

**Potter Manor, Holding Room...**

Joseph Michel wasn't happy with their current situation. No, he wasn't happy at all. So many years on the force, and never, not even as a rookie, had he ever found himself in such a situation. This was bad, really bad. He couldn't see anything; he couldn't hear anything; he had no idea where they were; he had no idea who had them; he didn't even know if the room had more than one entrance. They could be ambushed. They'd be absolutely useless if they were.

There were only two of them, and they were sure to be blinded by the light that would surely overwhelm their sense of sight once the door, or doors, were opened. He had no doubts that if their captor was anything near competent, both he and Narcissa would be bound and at their mercy before they could even lift their wands in their captor's direction. Their best hope was for one of them to be ready with a shield and the other with a hex, but even then it was a dubious as Joseph Michel had predicted, they were indeed not even able to spin around towards the door once it had been open before they were quite effectively disarmed, silenced, and bound to chairs they hadn't even known were there.

"Oncle Joseph," Fleur gasped, not believing her eyes. She had walked into the room Hermione had just entered, only to find her Uncle Joseph bound and quite obviously silenced. She swallowed the urge to release her uncle, and looked to Hermione for permission to remove the silencing charm, and find out why he was in Britain, much less Potter Manor! "Vous êtes ici, pourquoi?" Fleur asked slowly, her tone cold.

"Fleur? C'est toi?" Joseph Michel asked, squinting his eyes, trying to make certain that his eyes weren't fooling him.

"Vous ne m'avez pas répondu. Pourquoi êtes vous en Bretagne? What are you doing here?" Fleur intoned severely, her eyes narrowed on her uncle, ignoring the nearly hysterical witch at his side.

"Je suis venu à Bretagne pour aider ma belle 'Cissa. Sa famille a disparu. Her family deesappeared et we are here to find zhem," Joseph answered calmly, his gaze calm and focused not on his niece, but the red-headed female next to her.

He hadn't seen Fleur look to her for permission to release the silencing charm, but judging from how his niece was poised more than a little protectively in front of her, while the rest of the group was stationed in such a way that she was at the center, he could with much certainty say that it was the small, red-headed witch whom was in charge. Hermione allowed a little smirk to play on her lips at his cheek. The audacity to just assume she was some kind of mob boss and imply that it was she who was holding them captive. It was just too much! It was absolutely hilarious. If anything it'd be Draco holding her captive!

_"I would, but you never let me," _Draco pouted mentally.

_"If you had it your way we would never get anything done... Can you go get Lucius? I think he's the only one equipped to deal with this particular situation."_

_"As you wish..." _Blushing bright red, trying to control the giddy giggles that threatened to spill from her mouth, Hermione focused on the situation on hand. She could only hope that Fleur would be able to distract them long enough for Lucius to arrive. She honestly had no idea how to deal with Narcissa. She certainly had not prepared for this. She had assumed, just as Lucius had, that she would remain in France with the love of her life until a few days before school started, and so had had the holding room prepared for high-threat individuals. Now, it would be nigh impossible to not explain the reason for such a reception.

"And what makes you so sure zhey are here, oncle? Zhe elf was redeerected, non?" Fleur asked smartly. "Alzhough I zhink zhe real question is why vous avez pensez zhat eet was a good idea to come alone et wizhout knowing zhe facts." She smirked at the sight of her uncle's narrowed eyes. Oh, yes she was enjoying this very much. Him, France's top auror, was at the mercy of a fifteen year old! She would have to tell her père about this!

"I zhink we can say zhat we did not expect zhis," Joseph grumbled.

**A/N Okay, that's it for this chapter. Next chapter will start with Lucius smoothing things over. Anyways, I would like to thank all of you who favorited/followed and all of you who took the time to review! Thank you very much! It really means a lot to me ^_^ Any who, feel free to review and tell me what y'all thought. Read ya soon! **


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